


Dealing with Shinigami

by TwilightMaster15



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga), Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Patricia Wrede
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, M/M, Princes & Princesses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22616452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightMaster15/pseuds/TwilightMaster15
Summary: Meet Prince Light, a prince who, to the public's eye, is everything a prince is meant to be—handsome, brilliant, hand-working, kind, polite. In actuality, he is hot-headed and headstrong, has strong sense of justice that goes against how the kingdom runs...And bored.So bored that news of an arranged marriage leads him to run away to live with a Shinigami. And not just any Shinigami, but Ryuk—one of the most powerful, dangerous, and equally bored Shinigami around. Of course, Light has a way of hooking up with dangerous characters, and soon he's coping with a witch, a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird, a stone princess, and some very irritating Yotsuba wizards. Eventually, he will find the not-very-kingly King of the Enchanted Forest who may sweep him off his feet.If the prince ran away to find some excitement, it looks like he's found plenty.
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Comments: 12
Kudos: 81





	1. In which Light gives up on being proper and has a conversation with a frog

Kanto was a vast kingdom, just east of the Mountains of Morning, where philosophers were highly respected. The climate was unremarkable. The knights kept their armor brightly polished mainly for show—it had been centuries since the Shinigami had come east. There were the usual periodic problems with royal children and uninvited fairy godmothers. Still, they were always the sort of thing that could be cleared up by finding the right prince or princess to marry the unfortunate child a few years later. All in all, Kanto was a very prosperous and pleasant place.

Light hated it.

He was the image of perfection, or so he had been told. Referred to by many as fairest of them all, he stood tall with messy yet neat light-brown hair which looked almost auburn in specific lighting, and soft chocolate brown eyes, but if you looked closely, there were flecks of crimson in his irises.

He was the eldest, the crown prince, groomed from the time he could speak to be a perfect and benevolent king—but here's the thing, what everyone considered perfect, Light thought pathetic. He had tried to make his opinions known to his parents but was quickly shot down. They hired all the tutors and governors to teach him all the things a prince ought to know. Seeing as he was supposed to be the head of the kingdom, this, unfortunately, did not include fighting.

Light found all the talk trying to teach him to change his ideals or teach him to be proper unfathomably dull. When he couldn't stand it any longer, he would go down to the castle armory and coerce the armsmaster into giving him a fencing lesson. Or he would take some books from their massive library and allow himself to be sucked into another world. As he got older, he found his lessons more and more boring, and the fencing and reading became more and more frequent. Soon, he added learning magic into the mix.

Eventually, his parents found out about the fencing and magic and said he shouldn't be learning to harm others, even if this was mostly in self-defense. The same thing happened when Light tried to learn anything that wasn't all about the peace, and he wasn't even allowed to see the trials for those guilty of murder.

When he was eighteen, Light summoned his fairy godfather, Raye Penber.

"What is it?" Raye asked, fanning away the blue smoke that accompanied his appearance, "This sort of thing isn't really done. You aren't supposed to call me unless it is a matter of the utmost importance to your life and future happiness."

"People are always telling me that," Light said, maintaining a friendly facade when he was pretty sure that if he heard that phrase again, he was going to start snapping necks. "And it _is_ of utmost importance to my life and future happiness." 

"Oh, well, then. You're a bit young to have fallen in love. Still, you have always been ahead of your time. Tell me about her."

Light sighed for more reasons than one, "It isn't her. I'm not in love with anyone, and I doubt I ever will be." 

"Then what is the problem?" Raye asked, and Light tried his best to remain calm. Shouting would get him nowhere. 

"This," he gestured to the castle around him, "Being a prince in a kingdom where nothing I say matters. I can't even do anything exciting like the common folk can, because I have expectations, and my parents are sheltering me to rule in their image and be great. It's boring. I want to do things, not sit around, and listen to the court minstrel make up songs about how brave father is, how perfect his son is, how lovely his wife and daughter are." 

"Well, are you sure this isn't a stage you're going through?" Raye asked, "You should outgrow it soon and be glad you didn't do anything rash."

Light narrowed his eyes, staring at his fairy godfather suspiciously, "You've been talking to my parents." Raye nodded. Light groaned and politely sent him away.

OoOoO

A few weeks later, Light's parents took him to a tourney in Tohoku, the next kingdom over. He was pretty sure they were only taking him because Raye had told his parents that he was getting stir crazy, and something had to be done about him. But he kept this opinion to himself. Anything was better than the endless rounds of dancing and painstaking boredom at home.

Light realized his mistake almost as soon as they reached their destination, for the King of Tohoku had a daughter. She was raven-haired, blue-eyed, and exceedingly beautiful, whose duty seemed to consist entirely of dancing attendance on Light.

"She's really pretty," Light's manservant, a young man named Matsuda, said sheepishly.

"Yes," Light said without enthusiasm, "Too bad she isn't anything else worthwhile."

"What do you mean?" Matsuda asked in astonishment.

"She has no sense of humor, she isn't intelligent in her own right, and while she is closer to my ideals, she also pushes it beyond what is reasonable. And she gets jealous if I even look at other girls. I'm glad we're only staying for three weeks. I can be polite, but I'm not sure I won't be able to stop myself from jumping out a window after that."

"But what about your engagement?!" Matsuda cried, horrified, making Light's eyes widen, and his whole body stiffen, 

"What engagement?" He asked slowly, trying to hide the venom in his tone, and control himself and prevent himself from exploding into a ball of fury. He felt that rage change from flaming to killing calm, and now knew he could handle what he was about to hear, already praying that his manservant was being as idiotic as usual and making assumptions.

Matsuda tried to mutter something about a mistake, but Light put his chin in the best prince fashion and insisted on an explanation. Finally, the manservant broke down. 

"I-I overheard your parents talking about it yesterday," he said sheepishly, "The covenants and contracts have been all drawn up, and the kingdoms are going to be united in marriage. They're going to sign it the day after tomorrow and announce it on Thursday."

"I see," Light said, that killing calm sending a shiver down his spine, which he kept hidden, "You may go." 

Matsuda left, and Light went to see his parents. They were annoyed and a little embarrassed that he had discovered their plans, but they were still firm about it.

"We were going to tell you tomorrow when the papers were signed," King Soichiro said.

"We thought you'd be pleased, dear," Queen Sachiko said, "Kiyomi is more like you and is rather beautiful."

Light wanted to scream that he didn't even swing that way—he was attracted to guys, always had been and always would be. But instead, he spoke calmly,

"I don't want to marry Princess Kiyomi. Even if this would work for a treaty, I don't care for her and am sure I will go mad if I spend any more time with her. She makes my beliefs look childish and immoral." He knew that, if he so desired, he could bend her to his will like putty, but that of everything he detested had to be the worst part. As a tool that was useful, but as a partner, he would need to spend the rest of his life with, that was hell. He wanted a _guy_ who could match him in intellect, wouldn't back down, and if he was good-looking, that would be the icing on the cake, was that too much to ask? Apparently so.

"Light, son," Soichiro tried, "I know this isn't the best option, but this would be best for both of our kingdoms. When you're older, you'll understand." Light growled, and he wasn't aware of any princes in the whole of Japan, meaning they couldn't marry off Sayu of give Light any chance of marrying for love. But really, he knew his younger sister had a crush on his manservant.

"If I'm too young to understand, then shouldn't I also be too young to get married?" He pointed out, but when he realized he wasn't getting through to his parents, he walked off before he was told to pick out wedding attire. 

So, he chose a more direct approach. He went to see Princess Kiyomi. She was in her room looking at white dresses, probably for the wedding. She turned to him, "Don't you think this is a lovely dress?" Light examined the gown, and he had spent enough time with his sister in an attempt to satisfy his boredom that he recognized plenty of issues.

"The parting is off-center, and while velvet and silk may work in most situations, it doesn't work in this one." Usually, he'd be polite, but if this was going to work, he needed to convince her she didn't want to marry him.

To his dismay, Kiyomi smiled, "I believe you're right. Pity, not I have to find another. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes," Light said, "You can _not_ marry me." At Kiyomi's puzzled look, he said coaxingly, "You don't really want to marry me, do you?"

"I do, that's why I brought up the idea to father as a potential treaty." Oh no! She actually wanted to marry him. He had to clench his fists to the point his hands bled to stop himself from grabbing the lantern in the corner of the room, smashing it on her dress, and watching her burn. Yes, he had homicidal anger issues, but in his eighteen years of living, he had yet to act on them, and they went against his beliefs.

Light left in disgust and went into the castle garden, feeling very discouraged. It looks like he was going to marry the Princess of Tohoku, whether he wanted to or not. 

"I'd rather be killed by a Shinigami," he muttered.

"That can be arranged," a voice said from behind his left boot. Light looked down and saw a small green frog talking to him.

"Did you speak?"

"You don't see anyone else around, do you?" The frog said.

"Oh!" He had never met a talking frog before, "Are you an enchanted prince?" He asked a little doubtfully.

"No, but I've met a few of them, and after a while, you pick up a few things." The frog said, "So why do you want to be killed by a Shinigami?"

"My parents want me to marry Princess Kiyomi." He explained, but that didn't seem like a good enough reason, so he elaborated, "And they don't let me do anything that interests me, always studying to tutors trying to change my values, and I can't even learn to fight or do magic. I'm just a puppet of a ruler, and even when I become King, the Constitution will stop me from doing anything worthwhile to improve the kingdom."

"It's sensible of you to not want to marry Kiyomi." The frog said, "I don't like Kiyomi. She used to skip rocks on top of my pond, and they always landed in my living room. But that can't be helped, so what are you going to do about this predicament that doesn't involve dying."

"I didn't say I _wanted_ to die, just that it would be a better option. I've tried talking to my parents, but they won't listen, and neither will Kiyomi." 

"I didn't ask what you'd _said_ about it," the frog snapped, "I asked what you're going to do. Nine times out of ten, talking is the way to avoid doing things."

Light smirked a little, taking quite a liking to this frog who spoke his language both literally and figuratively, "What kinds of things do you suggest, preferably ones that don't involve murder."

"You could challenge the princess to a duel."

"She would never accept, I doubt she even knows how to fence."

"You could turn her into a toad."

"I never got past invisibility in magic lessons," Light sighed, "Transformations are advanced study, and father caught me before I got to that."

The frog looked at him, disapprovingly, "What can you do?"

Light groaned because this was just as irritating to him as it would be the frog. "I know seventeen types of each form of dance, nine ways to agree with an ambassador without actually promising anything, memorized the contents of basically every book in the royal library, and one hundred and forty-three embroidery stitches. Context on that, my father forced me to do embroidery in an attempt to calm me down."

The frog stared briefly before saying, "I suppose there's no help for it. You have to run away." 

"Run away?" Light frowned, "I don't like the idea, too many things could go wrong."

"You don't like the idea of marrying Princess Kiyomi, either." The frog retaliated.

"Maybe I can think of some other way out of getting married." 

The frog snorted, "Such as?" When Light didn't answer for a moment, the frog said, "I thought so. Do you want my advice or not?" 

Light nodded. He wanted to hear other options, and he wasn't under any obligation to follow the advice. 

"Go to the main road outside the city and follow it into the mountains," the frog instructed, "After a while, you will come to a small Pavillion made of gold, surrounded by trees made of silver with emerald leaves. Go straight past it without stopping, and don't answer if anyone calls you. Keep on until you reach a hovel. Walk straight up to the door and knock three times, then snap your fingers and go inside. You'll find some people who can help you out of your difficulties if you're polite enough while asking, and they're in the right mood. And that's all."

The frog turned abruptly and dove into the pool, and Light found the advice very odd. He rose and went back to the castle, having taken mental note of the instructions nonetheless.

OoOoO

He spent the rest of the day being fitted and fussed over by servants until he was ready to scream. By the end of a formal banquet in which he had to sit next to Princess Kiyomi and listen to her trying to seduce him, Light was more than ready to take the frog's advice. 

Late that night, when most of the castle was asleep, Light bundled up one of his nicest but least favorite crowns and bundled it under five clean handkerchiefs, just in case the one who was going to hopefully solve his problem needed payment. Then he dug out the notes he had taken during his magic lessons and carefully cast a spell of invisibility. It seemed to work, but he was still very watchful as he left the castle. After all, it had been a long time since he'd practiced. 

By morning, Light was well outside the city and visible again, walking down the main road that led away from the mountains. It was hot and dusty, and he was glad he had had the foresight to bring water.

Just before noon, he spied a small grove of trees next to the road ahead of him, and he hurried forward. When he reached the clearing, he saw the trees were made of the most elegant silver, and the leaves were huge emeralds. In the center stood a charming Pavillion made of gold and hung with gold curtains.

Light slowed down when he heard a woman's voice, "My dear, you look so tired! Come sit with me and share my luncheon." 

The voice was kind and coaxing, but Light remembered what the frog had warned him about. He scoffed, _I'm not going to get caught that easily._ He turned without saying anything and hurried down the road.

A little farther on, he came across a tiny, wretched-looking hovel made of cracked and weathered grey boards. The door hung slantwise on a broken hinge, and the whole building looked like it was going to topple over at any moment. Light stopped and stared doubtfully at it, but he had followed the frog's instructions this far, and he thought it would be silly to stop now. He marched up to the door, knocked three times, and snapped his fingers. Then he pushed the door open and went in.


	2. In which Light discovers the value of a classical education and has some unwelcome visitors

Inside, the hovel was dark, cold and damp. Light found it a pleasant relief after the hot and dusty road, but he wondered why no sunlight seemed to be coming through the cracks in the boards. He was still standing just inside the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark, when someone said crossly, "Is that the prince we've been waiting for?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Asked a deep, rumbly voice.

"I'm Prince Light of Kanto," Light said politely, "I was told you could help me." 

"Help him?" Said the first voice, and Light heard a snort, "I think we should just kill him and be done with it."

Light began to feel slightly frightened. He wondered whether the voices belonged to ogres or trolls and whether he could slip out of the hovel before they made up their minds about killing and—depending on what he was dealing with—eating him. He felt behind him and was surprised when his fingers touched damp stone instead of dry wood. Then a third voice said, "Not so fast, Zellogi. Let's hear his story first." 

Light took a deep breath and explained everything about why he was here and had run away, so he didn't have to marry Princess Kiyomi.

"And what do you expect us to do about it?" one of the voices asked curiously.

"I don't know," Light admitted, "Except of course, that I would rather not be killed. I can't see who you are in the dark, you know."

"That can be fixed," the voice said. A moment later, a small glowing ball appeared in the air above Light's head. He stepped backward very quickly and ran into the wall.

The voices belonged to Shinigami. 

Five of them laid on or sprawled over or curled around the various rocks and columns in the vast cave where Light stood. None of them looked the same, and it was hard to tell the difference between male or female. So he had to guess by their voices. 

At this point, Light was extremely frightened. Even the smallest of them was at the very least two feet taller than him. They were more frightening than in the pictures he remembered in his history books. He swallowed, wondering whether he really would rather be killed by a Shinigami than marry Kiyomi.

"Well?" The broadly grinning Shinigami just in front of him asked, "What are you asking us to do for you?"

"I—" Light stopped short as an idea popped into his head. Cautiously, he asked, "I've heard of Shinigami who have captive princesses to cook for them, and so on..." he actually had a minimal idea what a Shinigami's princess did all day. He would be lucky if this worked.

Before any of the Shinigami could answer, there was a loud noise, and a sixth Shinigami entered the cave, and the others made way for him respectfully.

"Ryuk!" the newcomer said in a loud voice before... sneezing? "Sorry I'm late, but a terrible thing happened on the way here, achoo!" 

"What was it?" The Shinigami who Light had been talking to asked, and seemed to be trying not to laugh at the moment.

"Ran into a wizard. Achoo! He tried to steal my Death Note—had to eat him. And now look at me!" Death Note? Light grew increasingly curious and noticed the notebook at the hip of all the Shinigami. He wanted to reach for it, but if stealing it meant getting eaten, he'd rather not at the moment.

"Calm down, Sidoh," Ryuk said, "You're only making it worse."

"Achoo! Calm down? When I'm having an allergy attack? Somebody give me a handkerchief. Achoo!"

"Here," Light offered, holding out one of the ones he had brought with him, "Use this." He felt less frightened.

"What's that?" Sidoh asked, "Achoo! Oh, hurry up and give it here."

Ryuk took the handkerchief from Light, using two claws very delicately, and passed it to Sidoh. The almost bug-like Shinigami mopped his streaming eyes and blew his nose wherever that was. "That's better, I think. Achoo! Oh, drat!" Light handed another handkerchief to Sidoh, glad he had brought more than one.

Sidoh went through two more handkerchiefs before the sneezing finally stopped. "Much better," he said, "Now then, who's this that lent me the handkerchiefs? Somebody's new—you're not a princess."

"He's a prince, but it seems like life is so dull, he'd rather take up this role," Ryuk said, turning back to Light, "You were saying, about cooking and so on." 

"Couldn't I do that for one of you for a while?" Light asked. Ryuk laughed,

"Possibly. Why would you want to do that?"

"You were pretty much dead-on," he replied with a small chuckle, "This sounds much more entertaining."

Ryuk's grin grew broader, "What is your thought on going a few miles to the apple orchard and bringing back lots?"

"I can do that, why?"

"Consider yourself hired, Light. Or... kidnapped. This is unexpected and so interesting. I'm bored too, so I think we can amuse each other. Now, your highness, if you'll come this way, I'll get you settled in."

Light followed Ryuk across the cave and down a tunnel. To his relief, the glowing ball came with him.

Ryuk led him through a long maze of tunnels and finally stopped in another cave. "Here we are," Ryuk said, "You can use the small room over to the right. I think my last princess left most of the furnishings behind when she ran off with her knight. I can't have you seen in town, so I'll have to make some peasants in the village nearby make you some clothes."

"Thank you," Light said, "When do I start my duties? And what are they?" Never before had he seen himself as a willing slave, but already this was more appealing than married life.

"You start right away," Ryuk said, tossing a basket at Light, "I expect apples by sundown, and then the treasure needs sorting." He gestured to a dark opening to the left, "I'm sure some of it needs repairing. There's at least one suit of armor with the leg off, and some of the cheaper magic swords are probably getting rusty. The rest of it ought to be rearranged sensibly. The rest of your job, I'll explain as you go along. You don't object to learning a little magic, do you?"

"Not at all."

"Good. It'll make things much easier. Go and wash up, and I'll show you the exit so you can get those apples."

Light nodded and went to the room Ryuk had told him to use. As he washed his face and hands, he felt happier than he had in a long time. He wasn't going to marry Kiyomi, and sorting a Shinigami's treasure sounded far more interesting than dancing or embroidery. He was even going to learn some magic! Sure, his parents were going to worry about him, especially when they found out where he was, but did they really care about his happiness? Since he wasn't a princess, this wasn't exactly proper, but Light's ideals also weren't considered appropriate, so that didn't matter. 

Still smiling, he started forward to begin his new duties.

OoOoO

Light settled in very quickly. He got along well with Ryuk and learned his way around the caves with a minimum of mishaps. Actually, the caves were more like an intricate web of tunnels, connecting caverns of various shapes and sizes that belonged to individual Shinigami. 

It reminded him of an underground city with tunnels instead of streets. He had no idea how far they extended, though he suspected some of them were enchanted so that when you walked down them, you went a lot farther than you thought you were going.

Ryuk's section of the caves was reasonably large. In addition to the kitchen—which was a large cave near the exit, so there wouldn't be an issue with smoke—he had a sleeping cavern, three enormous treasure rooms at the far end of an intricate maze of twisty little passages. There were two more storage rooms for less valuable items, a library, a bare cave for eating and visiting with other Shinigami, and the set of rooms assigned to Light. All the caves had a somewhat musty, smoky, cinnamon smell. Light's first job was the air them out.

Light's rooms consisted of three small connecting caves, just off of Ryuk's living cavern. They were furnished very comfortably in a mixture of styles in a mix to styles and periods and looked just like the guest rooms in most of the castles Light had visited.

By the end of the first week, Light was sure enough of his position to give Ryuk a list of things he needed in the kitchen. The previous princess had made do with a large skillet with three dents and a wobbly handle, a wooden mixing bowl with a crack in it, a badly tarnished copper tea kettle, and an assortment of mismatched plates and silverware, most of them chipped or bent. Light was beginning to have a low opinion of that princess. Still, he supposed that, in her defense, she had only planned to be here until rescued, and Ryuk only cared about apples as sustenance, so the cooking supplies were mostly for the servant.

Ryuk had been amused by the request, and the next day, Light had the tools he had asked for. It was at this moment Light wondered if he could have this Shinigami like putty in his hands if he gave him apples and entertainment. It was certainly an appealing thought.

The treasure had been just as disorganized as Ryuk had said, and putting it in order was a significant task, not that he minded since the disarray had started making him twitch within seconds. It was sometimes hard to tell whether a ring was enchanted, and Light knew better than to put it on and see. It might be the sort of useful magic ring that turned you invisible, but it might also turn you into a frog. Light did the best he could and kept a pile in the corner of things he was unsure about.

Light collected that Shinigami, or at least Ryuk, were not all too tidy.

OoOoO

The first of the knights arrived at the end of the second week.

Light was busy cleaning swords. Ryuk had been right about their condition—not only were some of them rusty, but nearly all of them needed sharpening. He was polishing the last flakes of rust from an enormous broadsword when he heard someone calling from the mouth of the cave. Feeling somewhat irritated by the interruption, he rose and, carrying the sword, went to see who it was.

As he came nearer to the entrance, he was able to make out the words of a somewhat familiar voice was shouting, and Light internally groaned, because this knight was here to "rescue" him and fight his Shinigami "captor."

"Oh honestly," Light muttered, and quickened his step, "Here, you," he said as he came into the sunlight. Then he had to duck as a spear flashed through the air over his head, glad his new clothing allowed him to be more mobile, "Stop that!"

"Prince Light!" Light found himself face to face with Sir Aizawa, and he groaned, already knowing his parents were trying to retrieve him in time for the wedding. Aizawa was staring at him with an expression of worried puzzlement.

"What can I do for you?" Light asked, dodging when the knight tried to grab his wrist.

"Light, what are you talking about? Your parents sent me to save you from the Shinigami—and it was a shock that you instead of Princess Sayu was taken."

Light set the point of the broadsword on the ground and leaned on it as if it were a walking cane, "I thought that might be it," he said, "But I'd rather not be rescued, thanks anyway." 

"Not be rescued?!" Aizawa demanded, clearly unsure of what to do in this situation.

"And even if I did want to be rescued," Light chuckled a little, "You're doing it all wrong. Shinigami are Gods of Death, do you really think you can beat one in a fight? And asking one to come out and fight the way you did..." he shook his head, "No self-respecting Shinigami is going to answer to a challenge like that. But that aside, I like living with Ryuk."

"You like—" Aizawa stared at him for a moment. Then his expression cleared and he said, "The Shinigami must have enchanted you, the Light I know wouldn't be acting like this."

"You don't know me very well, then," Light replied, "I was miserable at the castle. Ryuk has not enchanted me, and I do _not_ want to be rescued by _anybody_. I'm actually happy here, which surprised even me, but I'm not complaining."

Aizawa was clearly concerned, "So, where is your Shinigami?" Light smirked a little, not planning on correcting the knight about him technically being the Shinigami's Prince.

"He's gone to the Enchanted Forest on the other side of the mountains to borrow a crepe pan from a witch he knows." 

"Why would a Shinigami want a crepe pan?"

"He doesn't want it. I do. I found a recipe in the library I wanted to try, and the kitchen just isn't equipped to handle anything except basic cooking. After telling him this was a new way of preparing apples, he was flying off." He frowned a little, "How did you know where I was?"

"Things get around," Aizawa replied, "In fact, I had to hurry to make sure I was the first. Your father has offered half of the kingdom to whoever rescues you, so I had to make sure I got there first so he wouldn't have to hold true to that." 

"Really?" Light asked in a tone of deep disgust, "Well, at least you can go back and tell them I don't want to be rescued. Maybe that'll keep anyone else from coming up here." He gave a polite farewell, sent him on his way, and walked back into the cave, ignoring Aizawa's protests as he went back into the cave and polished the broadsword some more to relieve his stress.

OoOoO

There were two knights the following day, and four more the day after that. On the fourth day, there was only one, but he was exceptionally stubborn, and it took Light nearly two hours to get rid of him. By then, he was thoroughly disgusted and even considered letting Ryuk handle the knights from then on. None of these men were intelligent, and while some were attractive, the stupidity made them unappealing. Maybe Light would take up the deal if someone came who was actually worried about his wellbeing and wasn't just trying to get half of his father's land.

Light had known that eventually women would start being sent to retrieve him, due to someone's hope that maybe he would accept a rescuer of the opposite sex. But he hadn't predicted that, at the end of the third week, Princess Kiyomi would show up. She was limping a little as if her metal boots pinched her toes. She stopped and tried to strike an impressive pose before issuing the usual challenge, and while Light found this moderately hilarious, he wasn't in the mood. Besides, he could see this armor was meant to work better for appearances than functionality.

"Aren't you a little slow?" He asked irritably, "There have been eight knights here before you."

"Eight?" the princess said, frowning, "I thought by now there would have been at least twelve. Perhaps I'd better come back later." 

Light had stared at him in surprise. This was a new one. "Why?"

"There's not much glory in defeating a Shinigami that hasn't already beaten ten to fifteen people," Kiyomi explained. Light laughed, wanting to point out that Shinigami only needed a name and a face to kill, so this would be pathetically easy if Ryuk actually wanted to get involved instead of just watching in the shadows and laughing as he always did at this point.

"You're going to go away and wait until Ryuk has defeated fifteen knights before you come back to rescue me?" This was actually amusing to him.

"Not if you'd rather be rescued now, of course," Kiyomi said hastily, "But regardless, it won't be very long." 

"I'm afraid it will be a very long time," Light said with smug satisfaction, "You see, Ryuk hasn't defeated any knights at all yet."

"B-But I thought you said there had been eight."

"I said eight knights had come by. I didn't say they had fought anybody. I sent them away."

"You sent them away?!" Kiyomi repeated, plainly horrified, "But that's—"

"Not how it's done? I know," Light smiled sweetly, "But I've done it. And I intend to keep on doing it, so you might as well go home and warn your friends. They'd feel so foolish, you know, if they came all this way into the mountains to rescue me and then had to turn around and go back home without doing anything."

"They certainly would!" Kiyomi said indignantly, "What do you mean by playing these tricks? Don't you want to be rescued?"

"No," Light said, losing his patience, "I don't. And I'm tired of having my work constantly interrupted. So please go away and don't come back."

"You can't possibly mean that," she said, "Everyone expects me to rescue you."

"That's your problem," Light said, then he smirked as he thought of a way to use this to his benefit, "I'll tell you what. If I meet someone my type, I might let myself be rescued by them. But for now, I'm going to go fix dinner. Goodbye." Before she could say anything else, he turned and ducked back into the cave, hoping the princess wouldn't follow.

Ryuk laughed, munching on an apple, "Someone your type, eh?"

"Believe me, it's a hollow statement," Light replied, "Someone appealing enough to have me leaving is someone I highly doubt exists or falls under the category of someone who would come to 'rescue' me." 

Both Shinigami and Prince laughed together, knowing this was going to be amusing and interesting, watching the nobility scramble about trying to find someone of his type—which nobody except Light and Ryuk even knew.


	3. In which Light meets a witch and has a conversation with a wizard

Kiyomi had left, but she came back the next day, and the day after that. It got to the point Light couldn't even step outside the cave without running into her. He might have been flattered if it hadn't been apparent that Kiyomi was only worried about how foolish she would look if she went home without her fiancé or fighting the Shinigami. On her fifth visit, Light was very sharp with her, and when she had not returned by midafternoon the next day, he began to hope that maybe she had left for good.

Light was in the kitchen, taking the pits out of cherries when he heard someone knocking on the mouth of the cave. 

"Go away!" He shouted in complete exasperation, "I've told you and told you, I don't want to be rescued, and I'm not going to argue with you anymore!" 

"I didn't come here to argue," said the no-nonsense female voice from outside, "I came to meet the person who keeps borrowing my crepe pan. It's not something there usually's much call for."

"Oh, dear," Light said, wiping his hands hastily on a corner of his apron and hurried out to greet the visitor. "I'm sorry," he came out around the gray rock at the cave mouth, "I've been having a problem with knights lately, and I thought—" He stopped short as he got a good look at his caller for the first time.

The woman standing outside the cave wasn't much shorter than Light. Her shoulder-length raven hair fell gracefully, complimenting her grey eyes. She had a long-sleeved robe that seemed to be made of black leather. She projected quite the air of self-assurance.

"I understand," she said, studying Light, "When Ryuk said his new princess was one of a kind, this isn't what I thought he meant."

"Yes, I'm Light. And you are..."

"Naomi," the black-robed woman said, "Ryuk and I have been friends since I moved to the Enchanted Forest, so I thought I'd have a look at his new prince."

"You're the person Ryuk has been borrowing dishes from, aren't you?" Light said, and blinked, "But then you must be—"

"A witch." Naomi finished. "I don't see why you find it surprising. It's not an unusual profession in these parts."

"It's just that I haven't met one before," Light said, not mentioning the fact that Kanto witches were considered dangerous and probably evil and therefore were avoided if at all possible. But then, people in Kanto didn't like Shinigami much either. "Do you want to come in and have some tea?"

"Thank you," the witch said, and she did. She watched Light in fascination as he put the kettle on the stove and got the tea ready. "Well," she said approvingly as he filled the teapot, "You're the first royal I've ever met who has the sense to keep up with the kitchen."

Light decided he liked Naomi's down-to-earth manner. He soon found himself telling her everything. The story lasted through two cups of tea and finished with Kiyomi's stubborn insistence on rescuing him. 

"That is absurd," Naomi said decidedly when Light finished, "If this continues, you'll never get anything done."

"I know," Light said, "I keep telling them I don't want to be rescued, but they are all so 'honorable' that none of them will tell anyone when they go back because they think it would be gossiping."

"More likely, they don't want to look foolish."

"Maybe, but even if they did tell people, I'm not sure anybody would believe it. I have a hard enough time convincing the knights when they show up in person."

"It's just as well that your visitors _have_ to be honorable," Naomi said, looking thoughtful, "Kanto's a prosperous kingdom. Sooner or later, the chance to get hold of half of it is going to tempt someone to try rescuing you whether you like it or not."

"That hadn't occurred to me," Light said with a worried frown, "What can I do about it?"

"I could always talk to the King of the Enchanted Forest on your behalf and see what can be done," Naomi offered, "But the situation's not at all usual, you know. I've never heard of anyone, especially not a prince, _volunteering_ for a Shinigami before. This somewhat surprises me, now that I think about it. A Shinigami's princess is practically guaranteed a good marriage, so you'd think royals from the smaller kingdoms would be clamoring for the job."

"The Enchanted Forest has a King?" Light asked, having never heard about that before. Naomi nodded,

"I've met him a couple times. He's quirky, but he's smart and doesn't seem all too interested in being King." Light's interest was extremely peaked but decided to get back to contemplating how he could keep knights away.

"Do you think it would help if I sent my parents a letter?"

"Probably not," Naomi said after a moment's contemplation, "But it can't hurt to try. I'll check my spellbooks when I get home. It may give me an idea. Meanwhile, we'll put up a sign."

"A sign?" Light stared at Naomi for a moment, then began to smile, " 'Road washed out,' or 'use an alternate route.' Is that the kind of sign you were thinking of?"

"Exactly," Naomi said with approval, "It won't stop anyone who's really determined, but it will certainly slow them down. That should give us time to come up with something better."

The two got to work at once and, in a short time, produced a large, official-looking sign. Naomi offered to set it up on her way back to the Enchanted Forest, but Light thought it would be too awkward for her to carry while riding the broom. So, once Naomi had gone, Light tucked the sign under his arm and started down the path.

OoOoO

Light had not had a chance to do any real exploring before, though he had looked out at the mountains every day and wondered. He was happy to have an excuse to see more of the outside of his lovely new home.

It was a lovely day, warm and sunny, and at first, the path was level and straightforward. He was beginning to wonder if anyone would believe his sign when the trail swung left around a boulder and narrowed to a tiny ledge sloped steeply upwards.

Light stopped. Now he knew why none of the knights had ridden up to the cave. The ledge was barely wide enough for a person on foot to edge along sideways, and the best rider in the world couldn't have gotten a horse down it. Light rolled the sign up in a tight cylinder and stuck it through his belt, so he would have his hands free while he climbed. Then he stepped onto the ledge.

Sidling up the slope took a long time, for Light was careful to make sure that each part of the ledge would hold before he trusted his weight to it. He was also careful not to look down. Heights had never bothered him before, but there was a big difference between standing solidly on top of a tower in Kanto Castle behind a four-foot parapet and inching along a ledge barely six inches wide and nothing between him and a long fall.

He had nearly reached the top of the slope, where the path widened again when a significant portion of the ledge disappeared. Light pulled his foot back and tried to figure out what had happened. He hadn't seen or heard the rock crumble and fall away. There was simply a two-foot gap in the ledge that hadn't been there before. He studied it for a moment, trying to think of a way to get past. Nothing occurred to him. He felt a twinge of annoyance at the thought of all his wasted efforts but cheered up at once when he realized that this would solve the problem of the visiting knights. If he couldn't get around or over a gap, an armored knight wouldn't be able to get by either. Light smiled and turned his head to creep back to safety.

There was another two-foot gap in the ledge on his other side. Light frowned. Something very odd was going on, and he didn't like it.

"You look like you need assistance," a deep voice said above him, "May I be of help?"

Light turned his head and saw a man standing four feet away on the path at the top of the ledge. He was tall and sharp-featured, and his eyes steely brown. He wore robes made of violet and grey silk, and he had a staff as tall as himself made of dark, polished wood.

"Possibly," Light answered. He was confident this man was a wizard, though he had never met one before, and he did not want to agree to anything until he was sure of what he was agreeing to. The court philosopher had always claimed wizards were very tricky. "May I know who I am speaking to?"

"I am the wizard, Namikawa," the man said, "And you must be Ryuk's new prince. I hope you're not trying to run away. It's—"

"Not done," Light said, feeling particularly annoyed because, for once, he was _not_ doing anything improper. "Yes, I'm Light."

"I was going to say it isn't _wise_ to run away from your Shinigami," the wizard corrected mildly, "I believe it's _done_ all the time."

"Alright. But I'm not running away. How did you know who I am?"

"It seemed unlikely I would find any other charming young man walking so casually through the Pass of Silver Ice," Namikawa answered. He smiled, "As you see, it is easy to find oneself in difficulties if one is not properly... prepared."

Light decided he didn't like this wizard. He reminded him of one of his father's courtiers, a humorless, sneaky little man who had paid him compliments only when he was after something and who couldn't resist giving advice even when nobody wanted it. What was that guy's name... Viren?

"The ledge was all here when I started," Light said. An idea crossed his mind, and he looked hard at Namikawa, "I don't suppose _you_ know what happened to the two missing bits?"

A flash of startled annoyance crossed the wizard's face. Then his expression smoothed back into pleasant politeness. He shrugged, "The Pass of Silver Ice is a strange place. Odd things frequently occur."

"Not like this," Light muttered. He was sure now that the wizard had made the ledge vanish so he could pretend to rescue him, but Light had no idea why Namikawa would want him to think he owed him a favor. Actually, it surprised him that the wizard had destroyed the ledge. He didn't think the Shinigami would be too happy when they found out. Unless he hadn't really destroyed it.

"What did you say?" Namikawa asked, frowning uncertainly.

Light ignored him. Without looking down, he slid his right foot along the ledge. The rock felt firm and stable. Slowly he transferred his weight and brought his left foot up beside his right. He shifted again, still careful not to look down, and slid his right foot forward once again.

"What are you doing?!" Namikawa demanded.

"Getting off this ledge," Light replied, "I should think that was obvious." One more step would bring him to the path, but Namikawa was squarely in his way. "Would you mind moving back a little so I'll have somewhere to stand?"

Namikawa's eyes narrowed, but he backed up several paces, and Light stepped onto the path. He wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but he did not. He wasn't going to give the wizard the satisfaction of knowing he had been worried. Instead, he gave his best royal smile and said with polite insincerity, "Thank you for offering to help, but as you see, it wasn't needed. Do stop by and visit sometime."

"I will," Namikawa said as if he meant it. "And a very good day to you, Prince Light."

With that, he vanished. There was no smoke or fire or whirlwind. There wasn't even a shimmer in the air as he disappeared. He was just simply and suddenly gone.

Light stared at the place where the wizard had been and felt a shiver run down his spine. It took a very powerful wizard to vanish so quietly. And he still didn't know what he had wanted.

He shook himself and started down the path. He would worry about the wizard later. Right now, he had to find a place to put up his sign so he could go back to the cave. He didn't feel much like exploring anymore.

He hadn't taken more than two or three steps when a dark shadow passed over him. Looking up, startled, he saw wings and a skeletal form. An instant later, a Shinigami landed on the path in front of him, blocking the way completely.

"Hi, Rem," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"Wondering what you were doing conversing with a wizard and walking down this path, Light Yagami."

"I'm trying to put this sign up to keep the knights away," Light replied, gesturing to the sign, "As for the wizard, your guess is as good as mine."

"Charge!" Shouted a familiar voice from the other side of the Shinigami.

"Kiyomi!" Light shouted, "I told you to go _away_!"

Rem glanced over her shoulder, then flew into the air, and Light was blinded by the cloud of dust raised by the flapping of the Shinigami's wings. He had the presence of mind to flatten himself back against the rocks by the side of the path, and a moment later, he heard someone blundering by. He smirked as an idea popped into his head and stuck out his foot.

"Ow!" He said as Kiyomi fell over with a clatter. He'd forgotten she'd be wearing iron boots, but at least this worked to his advantage, even if it was actually painful.

"Light? Is that you?" Kiyomi said.

"Of course it's me," Light replied, rubbing his ankle, "Open your eyes, the dust's settled." He looked up as he spoke and saw Rem soar out of sight behind a cliff.

"I'm sorry," Kiyomi said, and then in an anxious tone, she added, "I hope I didn't hurt you, stumbling into you like that."

Sure, the ache was already almost gone, but he wouldn't have stuck his foot out without reason. "I think you've sprained my ankle," he declared.

"Oh no," Kiyomi said. She sounded genuinely dismayed. Light had to look away to hide the grin threatening to let itself be known.

"I probably won't be able to walk for at least a month," he announced dramatically, "And there's certainly no way I can climb down this mountain."

"But if you can't walk, that means I'll have to carry you." She didn't sound as if she liked the idea, and Light had serious doubts that she was even able to carry him, even if he was on the lighter side.

"I don't think that would work very well." Light said quickly, "How will you fight when the Shinigami come back, and you're carrying me? No, you'll have to leave me here and go back alone."

"You can't stay here!" Kiyomi protested, but she had betrayed herself by showing fear when Light had mentioned the Shinigami coming back.

"I have to," Light said, using his expert manipulation skills—which his father didn't approve of him having—to sound noble and long-suffering. "The Shinigami will make sure I get back safely to Ryuk's cave, but a month isn't too long to wait, after all."

"I don't understand," Kiyomi said, and she did look thoroughly puzzled.

"There's no point in you or anyone else coming up here to rescue me for at least a month, not until my ankle's better," Light explained patiently.

"Oh, I see," Kiyomi said. She tilted her head back and scanned the empty sky. "You're quite sure you'll be alright? Then I'll be going before the Shinigami return." She turned and started down the path as quickly as she could manage in full-body armor.

Light watched her go with feelings of smugness and immense relief. Now he had at least a month to find a permanent way of discouraging the knights, for he was quite sure Kiyomi would spread the news of his "injury." He decided to put up his sign anyway, just in case, and after a little looking, he found a scrubby tree beside the path and hung the sign on it.

On his way back to Ryuk's cave, he noticed the two pieces of the ledge were still invisible, and he was cautious about crossing them. He looked down once, out of curiosity, and was immediately sorry. He was not comfortable with the sight of his own feet firmly planted on nothing at all, with sharp, spiky tops of spruce trees in full view some fifty feet below.

When he got back, he found Ryuk lounging and eating apples, "Rem told me you were talking to a wizard and then your unwanted fiancé showed up again. You certainly are a magnet for trouble, aren't you?"

"I guess that's part of my charm," Light replied with a shrug.


	4. In which the King of the Enchanted Forest takes a day off

The King of the Enchanted Forest was twenty-five years old and lived in a rambling, scrambling, mixed-up castle somewhere near the center of his domain. He sometimes wished he could say that it was  _ precisely _ in the center, but this was impossible because the edges and borders and even the geography of the Enchanted Forest tended to change frequently and without warning. When you are the ruler of a magical kingdom, however, you must expect some small inconveniences, and the King tried not to worry too much about the location of his castle.

The castle itself was an enormous building with a wide, square moat, six mismatched towers, four balconies, and far too many staircases. One of the previous Kings of the Enchanted Forest had been very fond of sweeping up and down the stairways in a long velvet robe and his best crown, so he had added stairs wherever he thought there was room. Some steps wound up one side of the tower and down the other without actually going anywhere, which caused no end of confusion among visitors.

The inside of the castle was worse than the outside. There were corridors that looped and curled and twisted, rooms that led into others, and even rooms built  _ inside _ other rooms. There were secret passageways and sliding panels and trapdoors. There were several cellars, a basement, and  _ two _ dungeons, one of which could only be reached from the sixth floor of the North-Northwest Tower.

"There is something backward about climbing up six flights of stairs to get to the dungeon," the King of the Enchanted Forest said, not for the first time, to his steward.

The steward, a tall, elderly elf who went by Watari, looked up from a handwritten list as long as he was tall and scowled. "That is not the point, your majesty."

The two were in the castle study, going over the day's tasks. Watari stood in the center of the room, ignoring several chairs of assorted sizes, while the King practically squatted behind a massive, much-battered oak desk. He was not wearing a crown or even a circlet, his clothes were as plain as a servant's, and his black hair was rumpled and needed trimming, but somehow he managed to look like a King. Perhaps it was the thoughtful expression in his charcoal grey eyes, even if it was partially overshadowed by the dark bags under his eyes from years without decent sleep. Many assumed the King had been cursed to not sleep—Sleeping Beauty in reverse—but even the King himself didn't know the particular reason the realm of slumber was as elusive as it was.

Watari cleared his throat and went on, "At the center of your majesty's kingdom, this castle—"

"It's not at the center of the kingdom," the King said, irritated. "It's only close. And please call me L and save the 'your majesty' nonsense for a formal occasion."

"We don't have formal occasions anymore," Watari pointed out, "You canceled them all because they were too stuffy, boring, and too many people got in the way of your deductive reasoning for what is best for the kingdom."

"Exactly, so no need for 'your majesty.'" He sighed, "Are we going to have this conversation again tomorrow."

"In your father's day, everyone was required to show proper respect, and his orders stating otherwise were only temporary. Forgive me, it's a force of habit." 

L groaned, knowing his father had been dead for seventeen years and still that stuffed shirt's orders hung around. He looked up when Watari had continued again, saying that for some reason, the North-Northwest dungeon needed a new rack and had been missing one for at least a hundred years. 

Now, they didn't use the rack they already had, so L didn't see a need to get a new one.

Watari consulted the list, "The nightshades are becoming a problem in the northeast."

"Nightshades are always a problem. Is that all?"

"Ah..." Watari cleared his throat, looking anxiously at the young man he had raised with his father unavailable, knowing L wasn't going to like this in the slightest, "There's the matter of your marriage."

"What marriage?" L asked, alarmed.

"Your marriage to a lady of suitable parentage. I have here a list of possible choices, which I have compiled after a thorough survey of the lands surrounding the Enchanted Forest."

"You made a survey?" L took the scroll between two fingers and looked at the names, "Watari, please tell me you haven't been talking to that dreadful woman with all the daughters, have you?"

"Her daughters are among the loveliest and most accomplished princesses in the world. I have not, of course, spoken to the Queen about the possibility without your consent, but any of her daughters would make a suitable bride for you."

"Suitable? Watari, all twelve of them put together don't have enough common sense to fill a teaspoon! And I'm not..." he bit his thumb, "I already have plenty of successors who can take the throne." Watari clearly knew what he was saying, and let him continue, "Besides, I'm not going to marry anyone anytime soon. Particularly not anyone empty-headed, which instantly takes those princesses," he spat the word, "Out of the frame altogether." He sighed, "Watari, please bring me some cake."

When Watari left, L sighed and dropped his head into his hands, digging his fingers into his thick, dark hair. Watari meant well, but why did he have to bring the subject up now, just when things looked like they were going to calm down? The feud between the elf clans had finally been settled, the most recent batch of enchanted princes had been sent packing with a variety of improbable remedies, and the giants to the north weren't due to raid anyone for another couple months at least. L had been looking forward to a quiet week or two, so he could amuse himself with something unrelated to the kingdom, but now he already knew everyone and their enchanted frog was going to be pestering about marriage.

"I might as well go on a quest or hire some dwarves to put in another staircase for all the peace I'm likely to get around here." 

"He's right, you know," a deep, raspy voice said from somewhere near the ceiling. The King looked up, and the carved wooden gargoyle in the corner grinned, "You  _ should _ get married."

"Don't you start," L snapped.

"Try and stop me," The gargoyle snapped right back, "My opinion is as good as anyone else's."

"Or as bad," L muttered.

"I heard that!" The gargoyle squinted downward. "No thanks to you, I might add. Do you know how long it's been since anyone cleaned this corner? I've got dust in my ears, and I expect something slimy to start growing on my claws any minute now."

"Good for you." L got up, knowing from experience that the gargoyle only got more unpleasant the longer it talked. "I'm leaving."

"Wait a minute! I haven't even gotten started yet."

"If Watari asks, tell him I've gone for a walk," L said, knowing full well that wasn't something he usually did. As he left the room, he waved, twitching two of the invisible threads of power that crisscrossed the Enchanted Forest. The gargoyle's angry screeching changed abruptly to surprise as a stream of soapy water squirted out of the empty air in front of it and hit it squarely in its carved mouth.

L smiled as the door closed behind him, shutting out the gargoyle's splutters. "He won't complain about dust again for a while." He muttered, and as he walked down the hall, his restrained smile tried to break free. It had been a long time since he had taken a day off.

Getting outside without getting caught was easy, even without using invisibility spells. L snuck past two maids and the footman at the front door anyway, just for practice.

Once he crossed the main bridge over the moat and reached the giant trees of the Enchanted Forest, he let himself relax a little, but not too much. This place had its own peculiar rules, and even the King was not exempt from them. If he drank from the wrong stream and got turned into a rabbit, or accidentally stepped on a slowstone, he would have just as much trouble getting back to normal as anyone else.

Of course, as King of the Enchanted Forest, he had certain privileges. Most of the creatures who lived here would obey him, however reluctantly, and he could find his way in and out and around without even thinking about it. He could use the magic of the forest directly too, which made him as powerful as any three wizards and a match for all but the very best enchanters.

He looked around at the bright green moss that covered the ground, thick and springy as the finest carpet, and the huge trees that rose above, and he smiled. Pleasant as it looked, without magic, he wouldn't have wanted to wander around it alone.

Magic came naturally to him and his predecessors. It had to; you couldn't begin to do an excellent job of ruling a magical kingdom unless you had a lot of magic of your own. That was the biggest issue with not having a biological heir, mainly if he stayed true to his sexuality. That was why he had asked Watari to gather the most magically gifted orphans as potential heirs to the throne. But the forest chose its own Kings, and once it had chosen them, it gave hem the ability to sense the magic permeating the woods and an instinct for using it. The Kings all came from the Lawliet family though, for nobody else could safely use the sword that did the choosing. Sometimes the crown went to a second cousin or a cousin instead of the eldest son. Still, L didn't have any of those anymore since they all were stupid enough for natural selection to run its course, so L at the tender age of eight had followed his father onto the throne. For the kingdom's sake, they were lucky his mind was far beyond his years.

For a few minutes, he strolled aimlessly, enjoying the cool, dense shadows. Then he decided to visit the Green Glass Pool. He hadn't been there for a while, and it was one of his favorite places. He thought about using magic to move there in a blink of an eye but decided against it since it wasn't that far of a walk.

But an hour later, he still hadn't reached it and was beginning to feel a little cross. The forest had shifted twice on him, each time moving the pool sideways or backward, so that not only was it farther away than it had been, it was in a different direction as well. It was almost as if the forest didn't want him to find the place. If he hadn't been King of the Enchanted Forest, L would have never known he was going the wrong way.

But this wasn't normal. Usually, the forest didn't play this sort of game with him. He checked to make sure the sword was loose in a sheath and easy to draw if he needed it. Then he lifted his hand and touched a strand of magic floating invisibly beside his shoulder.

All around him, the tree trunks blurred and faded into a gray mist. The mist thickened into a woolly fog, then vanished with a suddenness that always surprised him no matter how many times he did that spell. Blinking, he shook his head and looked around.

He was standing right where he had wanted to be on the rocky lip of the Green Glass Pool. It looked as it always did—flat and still as a mirror, and the same shade of green as the new leaves on a poplar. 

"Oh!" a soft, frightened voice said from behind him, "Who are you?"

L jumped and almost fell into the pool. He recovered his balance quickly and turned, his heart sinking. Sitting at the foot of oak was a girl with a thin silver circlet on her head and sky blue dress and golden hair contrasting the tree she sat at. Probably the image she was going for. L gave a resigned sigh. Somehow princesses, even the ones with less wit than a turtle, always knew how to appear to their best advantage.

"Who are you?" The princess asked again. She was examining him with an expression of great interest and didn't look frightened anymore. "And how did you come here, to this most solitary and forsaken place?"

"My name is Ryuzaki, and I was out for a walk." If she had done her homework—he doubted that, but it wasn't worth the risk—she would have heard of the unfortunately obscure name the King of this domain had, so an alias was needed when going out. "Is there something I might do for you?"

" _ Prince _ Ryuzaki?" she asked delicately.

"No?" L answered, momentarily puzzled, until everything clicked when he saw the look on her face.

"Lord Ryuzaki, then? Or, belike, Sir Ryuzaki?"

"I'm afraid not." He hoped fervently she wouldn't think to ask if he was a King. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his crown. Ambitious princesses were worse than the usual variety, and he didn't want to deal with either one right now.

The princess's dainty eyebrows drew together for a moment while she considered his answer. Finally, her expression cleared. "Then you must be a virtuous woodcutter's son, whose deeds of valor and goodwill shall earn you lands and title in some glorious future." She said positively.

"A woodcutter? In the Enchanted Forest?" He said appalled. Did this girl have  _ any _ sense? "No, thank you!"

"But how came you here to find me, if you are neither prince nor knight nor deserving youth?" She asked in wide-eyed confusion.

"Oh, sometimes these things happen. Were you expecting someone in particular?"

"Not exactly," she replied. She studied L as if she were trying to decide whether it would be okay to ask for help, even if he wasn't any of the things she wanted.

"How did  _ you _ get here, by the way?" L asked quickly. He hated to refuse princesses point-blank because they cried and pouted and carried on with their foolish requests. It would be better for both of them if he distracted her before she asked.

"Alas! It is a tale of great woe," the princess said. "Out of jealousy, my stepmother cast me from my father's castle while he was away at war. Since then, I have wandered many days, lost and alone and friendless, until I knew not where I was."

She sounded as if she had rehearsed her entire speech, and what little sympathy L had had for her vanished. She and her stepmother had probably talked the whole thing out and concluded that the quickest and surest way for her to match a suitable marriage was to go adventuring. He was amazed she had actually gotten into the Enchanted Forest. Typically, the woods kept out the obviously selfish.

"At last, I found myself in a great waste," the princess continued complacently. "Then I came near giving myself up for lost, for it was dry and terrible. But I saw this wood upon the farther side, and so I gathered my last strength to cross. Fortune was with me, and I achieved my goal. Fatigued with my efforts, I sat down beneath this tree to rest, and—"

"Wait a minute," L stopped her as he realized something wasn't right with her story—well, a lot was wrong, but something, in particular, caught his attention, "You crossed some sort of wasteland and arrived  _ here _ ? That can't be right. There aren't any wastelands bordering the Enchanted Forest."

"You insult me!" The princess said with dignity, "How should I lie to one like you? But go and see for yourself, if you yet doubt my words." She waved one hand gracefully at the woods behind her.

"Thank you, I will." L said. Still frowning, he walked rapidly past the princess in the direction she had indicated.

The princess's mouth fell open in shock as he went by. Before she could collect herself to demand that he return and explain, L was out of sight behind a tree.


	5. In which Light receives a formal call from his companions in dire captivity

It turned out that Light talking to a wizard was something worrisome to the other Shinigami because that meant the wizards were getting bolder if they were trying to make Ryuk's Princess—or Prince—owe them a favor, it said something big could be coming. 

But it was to the amusement of all the Shinigami since only the kingdom of Kanto knew the newest princess was not an airhead and also male, so most assumed Light was female unless they were directly from Kanto. Sometimes Light had used this in saying, "The princess isn't here right now, move along."

Light had only been able to serve apple pie and was then ordered to leave the meeting. Ryuk slept in late the following morning, and he was afraid that he would go before he had a chance to ask about the dinner conversation. To his relief, Ryuk called him as soon as he was thoroughly awake and asked Light to clean a bit.

"What was the crystal your friend mentioned last night?" Light asked as he laid out the brushes for cleaning specific treasures, "The one he thought the King could use somehow to find out what the wizards are doing?"

"The King's Crystal?" Ryuk asked, eating an apple, "It's one of the magical objects that belong to the Shinigami King."

"But what does it _do?_ And why did Calikarcha think the King wouldn't want to use it?"

Ryuk laughed, "Using the crystal is difficult and tiring, and the Old Man is _really_ old. Daril was right to say that the crystal should probably be used, but it will take more evidence than we have right now to persuade the King, and frankly, most Shinigami are too lazy to bother. As to what it does, the crystal shows things that are happening in other times and places. It's useful, but it can be very difficult to interpret correctly."

"Oh, a crystal ball," Light said, nodding as he scrubbed the hilt of a sword, "The court wizard in Kanto had one, but I had to stop my magic lessons before he got a chance to show me how to work it."

"The King's Crystal is more like a plate, but the principle is the same," Ryuk correct.

"A crystal plate?" Light blinked. "No wonder nobody talks about it much. It just doesn't sound right."

Ryuk shrugged as he laughed. "The King's Crystal is much more accurate than an ordinary crystal ball, and if 'crystal plate' sounds odd to most people, it means that fewer of them will try to steal it."

"Was that what Deridovely meant when he said that if the wizards started wandering through the mountains, you'd lose half your magic in no time? I never heard that wizards stole magic rings and swords and things."

"Not magic _things,"_ Ryuk muttered as though annoyed at what he was describing, but not at Light's question, "Magic. Wizards steal magic. That's where their power comes from."

"How can a wizard steal magic?" Light asked skeptically. He climbed on a stool and grabbed down a lamp to clean off.

"A wizard's staffs absorb magic from whatever happens to be nearby," Ryuk said, stretching out his wings out of Light's way as he got the lamp down, "That's why they're always hanging around places like the Mountains and the Enchanted Forest. The more magic in the area, the more their staffs can soak up."

"What would happen if someone stole a wizard's staff? Would the wizard still be able to use it?"

Ryuk looked to Light, "You're one sly fox, now aren't you? I let you play around, and now you've got a taste for power and want a wizard's staff."

"What?" Light asked in false innocence, "It sounds interesting, and being a wizard sounds better than being a prince, that's for sure. Can you answer the question already?"

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "The wizard wouldn't be able to work any magic until he got it back, so most of them have a great many anti-theft spells on their staffs for exactly that reason. Of course, it happens anyway, now and then. And as long as the wizard and the staff are separated, the staff doesn't absorb magic."

"It doesn't sound like a very good arrangement to me," Light mused. "I can think of half a dozen ways off the top of my head that the staff could be lost or forgotten or stolen or something. It doesn't seem sensible for a wizard to depend so much on anything so easy to lose."

Ryuk shrugged. "They seem to like it."

"I can see why you don't want them in your part of the mountains."

"Can you? Do you know how unpleasant it is to have part of your essence sucked out of you without so much as a by-your-leave? Not to mention the side effects."

"Side effects?" Light asked curiously.

"Sidoh isn't the only Shinigami who's allergic to wizards," Ryuk said dryly, "Or rather, to their staff. We all are. Sidoh's just a little more," he chuckled, _"Sensitive_ than most. That's why we made an agreement with them in the first place."

"The Shinigami have an agreement with the wizards?"

Ryuk nodded. "Yeah. Old Man made an agreement with the head of the Society of Wizards: the wizards stay out of our portions of the Mountains, and we allow them partial access to the Caves of Fire and Night. At least, that's the way it's supposed to work. King's getting old and forgetful, and lately, wizards have been turning up in all sorts of places they aren't supposed to be."

"Like that wizard Namikawa that I met on the path," Light said, recalling the sharp features of the wizard he had met. He had certainly seemed like he could be nasty, even when he was pretending to be nice. He was sneaky, too, or he wouldn't have tried to trick him. And he had been very annoyed when Light got off the ledge without his help. Light frowned.

"I wonder what he wanted, really," he mused. "Do you suppose he'll stop by the way he said he would?"

"I almost wish he would try," Ryuk replied, clearly highly amused by the situation.

Light paused from cleaning and put his fist under his chin, deep in thought, "If Namikawa or the other wizards are as tricky as everyone says, he won't come while you're here. He'll wait until you've gone somewhere, and I'm alone."

"True." Ryuk frowned. Then he looked at Light, and his eyes took on a speculative gleam. "He probably thinks you're as silly as the average princess, so he'll be hoping to trick you into giving him whatever it is he's after. And if he does—"

"Then maybe I can fool him instead," Light finished. "And once we know what he's after, we can decide what to do about it."

Ryuk and Light discussed this idea while he finished cleaning. There was very little they could do to prepare since they did not know when Namikawa or another wizard might show up at the cave or what he might do when he arrived. Then Ryuk went off to inspect the ledge where Light had met the wizard, to see whether bits of it were still invisible.

When Ryuk had gone, Light went into the library to hunt through all the books and scrolls of spells. The behavior of every Shinigami at dinner the previous evening had made a considerable impression on him, and he wanted to see whether he could find a spell to make himself impervious to damage or maybe fireproof. Until then, he hadn't realized that Shinigami had a tendency to knock things, including lit candles, around when they lost their temper. Not that he was planning to do anything to irritate Ryuk—or any other Shinigami, for that matter—but the Shinigami at dinner had been too annoyed to be careful. He didn't want to get burned or knocked into a wall with alarming force by accident, no matter how sorry the Shinigami might be afterward.

At first, he didn't have much luck. He hadn't had time to organize in the library, and most of the books and scrolls were lying in haphazard, dust-covered piles. Some had even fallen onto the floor, and there were spiders everywhere. Light realized that he would have to do some more cleaning first if he wanted to find anything. He went to get a water bucket with a sigh, some cloths for washing and dusting, and a rag to tie over his hair.

Light worked for several hours, dusting books and manuscripts, wiping off the dirty bookshelves, and putting the books back in neat rows when the shelves were dry. He found two books and five old scrolls that looked as if they might be interesting. These he set on one of the tables to look at later. He had just pulled a stained and yellowed stack of papers out of the back of the second-to-last bookshelf when he heard someone hallooing outside.

"Now what?" he muttered crossly. He set the papers on the table with the rest of the books he was planning to look at later and went out to see who was there.

To his surprise, the noise was coming from the back entrance, not from the cave's mouth. He hurried into the passage, rounded the corner, and found himself facing three beautiful, elegantly dressed princesses. None of them looked much like the other, except that they were all slender and somewhere between several inches and a foot shorter than Light. 

The first one wore a gold crown set with diamonds, and her hair was a dark brown, contrasting pale skin. The second wore a silver crown set with sapphires, and her hair was very short and black; of the three, Light could say she seemed the most normal. The last wore a pearl-covered circlet, and her hair was a golden blonde. They looked rather taken aback by the sight of Light in his dust-covered clothes and kerchief.

"Oh, bother," Light muttered under his breath. Then he smiled his best smile and said, "Welcome to the caves of the Shinigami Ryuk. May I help you with anything?"

"We have made the perilous journey through the tunnels to see the Princess Light, newly come to these caverns, to comfort him and together bemoan our sad and sorry fates," the first princess said, "Tell him we are here."

 _"I'm_ Light," Light said, rolling his eyes and highly amused by the common misconception, "I don't need comforting, and I'm not particularly sad or sorry to be here, but if you'd like to come in and have some tea, you're welcome to."

The first two princesses looked as if they would have liked to be startled and appalled by this announcement but were much too well-bred to show what they were feeling. The princess with the pearl circlet looked surprised and rather intrigued, and she glanced hopefully at her companions. They ignored her, but after a moment, the first princess said grandly, "Very well, we will join you, then," and swept past Light into the cave.

The other princesses followed, the one with the pearl circlet giving Light a bright smile as she passed. Light, wondering what he had gotten himself into, brought up the rear. The princesses stopped when they reached the main cave, and the ones in the gold and silver crowns looked a bit jealous. The one in the pearl circlet stared in amazement. "Wow," she said, "You certainly do have a lot of space."

"Misa!" the gold-crowned princess said sharply, and Misa glared, sticking her tongue out.

"This way," Light said hastily and led the three princesses into the kitchen. "Do sit down," he said, waving at the bench beside the kitchen table.

The gold-crowned princess looked at the bench, but after a moment, she sat down. The other two followed her example. There was a brief silence while Light filled the copper teakettle and hung it over the fire, and then the gold-crowned princess said, "I am remiss in my duties, for I have not yet told you who we are. I am the Princess Yuri of the Kingdom of Shikoku, now captive of the dread Shinigami Deridovely. This," she nodded toward the princess in the silver crown, "Is the Princess Kyoko of the Kingdom of Hokkaido, now captive of the dread Shinigami Gook. And this," she waved at the girl in the pearl circlet, "Is the Princess Misa of Kansai, now a prisoner of the dread shinigami Gelus."

"Pleased to meet you," Light said, fighting back the urge to laugh because from what he had seen, outside of contemplating having killed him, none of them seemed to care at all enough to have earned the title 'dread Shinigami.' _Maybe_ Nu, Armonia Justin Beyondormason, or Ryuk, but certainly not Deridovely, Gook, or Gelus. "I am Prince Light of the Kingdom of Kanto, now the prince of the Shinigami Ryuk. What sort of tea would you like? I have blackberry, ginger, chamomile, and gunpowder green. I'm afraid I used the last of the lapsang souchong this morning."

"Blackberry, please," Yuri said. She gave Light a considering look. "You seem to be most philosophic about your fate."

"I wish I was like that," Kyoko said quietly, "But my sensibility is too great to follow your example."

"If you don't like being a Shinigami's princess, why don't you escape?" Light asked, remembering that Ryuk had said that three princesses in a row had run away from Zellogi.

Yuri and Kyoko looked shocked. "Without being rescued?" Kyoko faltered. "Walk all that way, with Shinigami and trolls and goodness knows what else hiding in the rocks, ready to eat me?"

"It isn't done," Yuri said, "And I notice that you haven't tried it."

"But I'm enjoying being Ryuk's prince," Light said cheerfully. "I suppose I might have been upset if I'd been carried off the way you were, but I can hardly complain as it is, can I?"

Misa leaned forward. "Then you really did volunteer to be Ryuk's prince?"

Yuri and Kyoko turned and stared at their companion. "Who told you that, Misa?" Kyoko asked.

"Gelus," Misa replied,

"You must have misunderstood," Yuri said severely. "No one volunteers to be a shinigami's princess. It isn't done."

"Well, first of all, I'm not a princess," Light pointed out, "And actually, Misa's right," Light said as he set the teacups in front of his visitors. "I did volunteer." He smiled sweetly at the thunderstruck expressions on the faces of the first two princesses. "I got bored."

Yuri and Kyoko seemed unsure of how to take this announcement, so they made polite conversation about the tea and asked Light questions about the current fashions. Misa was more or less giving Light heart eyes, and he had to consciously fight back the groan because this was the kind of nonsense he had run away to avoid!

The princesses swept off, at last, still somewhat puzzled by Light's attitude. Light gave a sigh of relief and set about cleaning up the kitchen. He was just rinsing the last of the cups when she heard someone clearing her throat behind her. Light turned and saw Misa standing timidly in the doorway.

"Hello again," Light said, trying his damndest to be friendly. "Did you forget something?"

"Not exactly," Misa said. "I just wanted to get away from them for a while," she clung to his arm, "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind as long as you don't expect more hospitality," Light growled slightly, "I have to get back to work in the library."

"What are you doing?" Misa asked. She seemed really interested, so Light explained about the fireproofing spell.

"It sounds like a wonderful idea," Misa said when Light finished. "The Shinigami are careful around us, but it would be nice not to have to depend on them not to lose their tempers." She hesitated. "May I help?"

"I don't think Ryuk would mind," Light said, deciding that she might as well make herself useful if she was going to come bother him. "But you'd better change clothes first. The library isn't very clean, I'm afraid."

Misa looked down at her silk gown, embroidered heavily with silver and pearls, and giggled. Light took her into the bedroom and found plain, serviceable cleaning attire in the magic wardrobe. It took two tries before the wardrobe figured out that he wanted an outfit for someone else, but it provided a splendid selection in Misa's size once it caught on. Then they went to the library and got to work.

Cleaning was faster with Misa for company, that was for sure, and he found that as long as he was about five feet away from her, she was okay to have a conversation with. Misa was comfortable enough to ask Light straight out how it was that he had come to volunteer for a Shinigami.

"It's a long story," he said, but Misa insisted on hearing it. So Light told her and then asked how Misa had happened to be carried off by Gelus.

To his surprise, Misa flushed. "I think it was the only thing left that they could think of," she said, not very clearly. "My family, I mean."

"I don't understand," Light said.

"It's because I'm not a very satisfactory princess," Misa said. "I tried, I really did, but... It started when the wicked fairy came to my christening."

"She put a curse on you?"

"No! She ate cake and ice cream until she nearly burst and danced with my uncle until two in the morning and had a wonderful time! So she went home without cursing me, and my older sister says that that's where the whole problem started."

"Lots of princesses don't have christening curses," Light replied, "My little sister didn't."

"Not if a wicked fairy comes to the christening," Misa said positively, "And that was only the beginning. When I turned sixteen, my father sent me a gold spinning wheel for my birthday, and I sat down and spun. I didn't prick my finger or anything."

Light was beginning to see what Misa was getting at. "Well, if you didn't have a christening curse..."

"So my parents put me and a spinning wheel in a room full of straw and spun it into gold," Misa went on. "And I tried! But all I could manage was linen thread, and whoever heard of a princess who can spin straw into linen thread?"

"It's a little unusual, certainly," Light said, but at this point he was only half paying attention, and that half was out of dull curiosity, not any semblance of actually caring.

"Then they gave me a loaf of bread and told me to walk through the forest and give some to anyone who asked. I did exactly what they told me, and the second beggar-woman was a fairy in disguise, but instead of saying that whenever I spoke, diamonds and roses would drop from my mouth, she said that since I was so kind, I would never have any problems with my teeth."

"Really? Did it work?"

"Well, I haven't had a toothache since I met her."

"I'd much rather have good teeth than have diamonds and roses drop out of my mouth whenever I said something," Light said. "Think how uncomfortable it would be if you accidentally talked in your sleep! You'd wake up rolling around on thorns and rocks."

"That never occurred to me," Misa said, much struck, "All I ever get is almost murdered constantly by creepy peasants who want to be a prince."

"Was that everything?" Light asked.

Misa shrugged, "I guess. I think my sister was the one who found out that Gelus was going to get some food from a village just over the border and arranged for me to go and visit on the right day so I could be carried off. She didn't even warn me. I suppose she thought that if I knew, I'd mess it up somehow."

"I don't think I would get along very well with your family," Light commented thoughtfully,

"Oh, it wasn't so bad, at least at first," Misa said. "Gelus really likes me, even though I can't cook me, and it was a real relief not to have my sister around anymore. The other two are a little irritating, but it's mostly because even Kyoko gets more knights and princes than me! I'm more beautiful than them, and they've both had dozens of knights and princes try to rescue them. I've only had two!"

"How do you do it?" Light asked, wondering if it was her ear piercingly high pitch voice or her clinginess. "I've had nine already, and they're a dreadful nuisance." Misa stared at Light, then began to giggle. "What's so funny?"

"Yuri bragged for a week because two knights and a prince tried to rescue her the first month she was here," Misa explained between giggles. "She said it was some kind of record. You've barely been with Ryuk for four weeks, and you've had nine, and you didn't even mention it when Yuri was here. She's going to be furious when she finds out."

"If she wants them, she can have them," Light said. His expression grew thoughtful. "Maybe they'd be easier to get rid of if I sent them along to a princess, instead of just trying to get them to go home."

"Oh!" Misa said and went off into gales of laughter again. Light gave her a questioning look. "It's the idea of Yuri being rescued by a secondhand knight!"

Light's eyes began to dance. "I could take a good look at them first to make sure they're worthy of her before I sent them on," he suggested.

This was too much for either of them, and they both collapsed in laughter. "You wouldn't, really, would you?" Misa said when she began to recover.

"Send the knights to rescue someone else? I certainly would," Light said emphatically. "I meant it when I said they were a nuisance. I wouldn't want to upset Yuri, though. I'll have to think about the best way of handling it. It's a good thing there probably won't be any more of them for a few weeks. I should have plenty of time to figure something out."

"How do you know that?" Misa asked. Light explained about the sign and Kiyomi and his "sprained ankle." Misa was impressed and promised to help if she could. "I'll tell Kyoko that you've twisted your ankle. I know she'll tell the next knight who comes to rescue her. Then it won't matter if your Princess Kiyomi doesn't tell anybody," she sounded very smug at the idea of Kiyomi not turning up again for a while. Light knew that even if the rescuers were done for a time, the headaches were sadly not.

This settled, the two sat down and began looking through the books and scrolls Light had piled on the table. Misa, having been brought up as a proper princess, did not read Latin, so Light had to examine those scrolls himself. There was a sizable stack of books left, however, and Misa waded into them with a will. It was Light, however, who finally found the spell they were searching for.

"I think this is it!" he said, looking up from an ancient, crumpled scroll. "'Being a Spell for the Resisting of Heat and Flames of All Kinds, in Particular Those Which Are the Product of Magical Beasts or Unfortunate Accidents,'" he read. "Yes, there's a list, and it includes Shinigami knocking over candles. That's... actually oddly specific—does this happen often?"

"I wouldn't think so," Misa said. "Is it difficult?"

"It doesn't look hard," Light said, studying the page. "Some of the ingredients are pretty rare, but it says you only need them for the initial casting. After that, you can reactivate the spell by throwing a pinch of dried feverfew in the air and reciting a couplet."

"That's not bad," Misa replied. She came around the table and peered over Light's shoulder at the faded ink. "Is it Latin?"

"No, it's just an ornate style of writing," Light assured her. "It's not hard to read once you get the hang of it. See, there's the couplet.

_"Power of water, wind, and earth,_

_Turn the fire back to its birth."_

"It's a variation on a Shinigami spell," Light added.

"How do you know that?" Misa asked.

"I studied a lot at home," Light replied, studying the directions, "When you're smarter than the entire royal court combined and not allowed to do much entertaining, studying becomes a good friend."

"Can we get all the ingredients for the initial casting?"

"I think so, but it'll take a while," Light said. "I don't have any wolfsbane, and I'm not at all sure about unicorn water. Come on, let's check and see what we need to get."

They took the scroll into the kitchen and began hunting through the shelves and supplies. They found more of the ingredients than Light had expected, and he began to wonder whether one of Ryuk's previous princesses might have studied magic. However, they did not find any wolfsbane or unicorn water, nor were they able to locate any white eagle feathers. Misa discovered a very cobwebby jar labeled "Powdered Hens' Teeth," but it was empty.

Light made a list of the ingredients they still needed, while Misa changed back into her pearl-embroidered dress. Misa took a copy of the list and went back to her quarters to see whether she happened to have anything useful in the dusty, disused corners of her Shinigami's kitchen. Light doubted she would find anything, but there was no harm in letting her look.

As soon as Misa left, Light tidied up the kitchen and put all but two books back on the library's shelves. One was the scroll of spells in which she had found the fireproofing spell because he wanted to take a more careful look at some of the other charms and enchantments it described. The other book was a fat volume bound in worn leather, with the words Historia Dracorum in cracked and flaking gold leaf on the cover. Light had decided it was time he really got to work on his Latin.


	6. In which the wizards do some snooping, and Light snoops back

For the next three weeks, Light spent most of his free time studying the fireproofing spell and collecting the ingredients he would need to cast it. A few, like the wolfsbane and feverfew, he could gather herself from the herbs that grew on the slopes of the mountains. Misa found a jar of hippopotamus oil among the cosmetics left by her predecessor. The unicorn water Light got from Naomi after promising her a copy of the spell if it worked. He went to Ryuk about the white eagle feathers, and the Shinigami found the whole idea very interesting.

"It could be very useful," Ryuk said reflectively. "There are enough hot-tempered youngsters around that it would be well worth fireproofing the prince and princesses who have to deal with them."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to fireproof anyone at all," Light said. "I still need the white eagle feathers and the powdered hens' teeth, and nobody seems to have any."

"I'll see what I can do," Ryuk said, and a few days later, he dropped a bundle of white feathers at the door of the kitchen. Half a feather was stuck to one of his right claws, and another was caught between two of his teeth, and he looked very pleased with herself. Light decided not to ask any awkward questions. Even Ryuk, however, could not find any hens' teeth, so Light had to keep putting off trying out the spell.

When he wasn't working on collecting the ingredients for the fireproofing spell, Light read the Historia Messorem. It was very difficult at first. After all, it had been a long time since his last Latin lesson. He kept working at it until he started to remember the right endings for the declensions and conjugations and cases. Shortly after that, he realized that he did not have to look up quite as many words as he had initially.

From then on, his progress was rapid. It helped that he found the book fascinating. Shinigami history was not a subject commonly taught to the Prince in Kanto. But as he was now a Shinigami's Prince, he had personal reasons to be interested. Besides, the history of the Shinigami was very exciting. Every page was full of descriptions of Shinigami ravaging villages, carrying off princesses, defeating knights and princes—and occasionally being defeated by them—and fighting with wizards, giants, and each other. When the book wasn't describing battles, it was describing famous Shinigami hoards and peculiar customs.

Light was in the library with the Historia Messorem in his lap and his Latin dictionary on the table beside his left hand when he heard someone calling from the front of the cave. He had hoped it would be at least a little longer before the knights started coming back, so he couldn't help sighing as he stuck a leather bookmark in the book and closed it. Then he went out to argue with whoever it was until they went away.

Two wizards were standing just outside the mouth of the cave. Light saw their wooden staffs first before he was close enough to see their faces. As he came nearer, he recognized the one on the left as Namikawa. The one on the right was shorter and probably older; he had brown hair and a look to him that he took advantage of innocent women. His black and brown robes were identical to the probably younger wizard, except for the colors. His eyes were the same bright black as his companion's, and he looked at Light in a way that made him feel uneasy.

"Good morning to you, Prince Light," Namikawa said. "I thought I would take you up on your kind invitation to visit. I hope we haven't come at an inconvenient time?"

"Not at all," Light said, thinking hard. He had promised Ryuk that he would try to find out what Namikawa was after if he showed up, and here he was. Maybe if he convinced him that he was as silly as other nobles, he would be careless enough to let something slip.

"I thought perhaps we might have since it took you so long to come out," Namikawa said mildly, but Light thought there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"I must not have heard you right away," Light said, batting his eyes innocently, the way his sister did whenever he had done something particularly foolish. "Ryuk has quite a large set of caves, and I was in one of the ones at the back. I'm so sorry."

"Ah." Namikawa said, "That would make it difficult for you. Perhaps we could set up a spell for you, one that would let you know whenever anyone comes to visit. It would be more pleasant for visitors, too, if they didn't have to shout. What do you think, Higuchi?"

"Like the one at the headquarters of the society," the second wizard said, nodding. "We could do it in two or three minutes, right from here. It'd be easy."

Namikawa shot a dark look at his companion. Light was sure that he'd wanted to pretend he was inventing a difficult new spell so that he would have an excuse to wander around Ryuk's caves. "Quite so," he said. "Well, Prince?"

"Oh, dear, I don't know," Light said, doing him best to imitate the way the court girls behaved whenever anyone wanted them to decide anything. "It sounds very nice, but Ryuk is so picky about where things go and how things are done... No, I couldn't. I simply couldn't let you do anything like that without asking Ryuk first."

"What a pity," Namikawa said. His companion coughed and shuffled his feet. "Ah, yes. Allow me to present my coworker, Higuchi. I hope you don't mind my bringing him along?"

"Of course not," Light said politely.

"I am pleased to make the acquaintance of such a lovely prince," Higuchi said, bowing.

Light blinked. This wasn't getting anywhere. Maybe if he brought them inside, they'd relax a little. "Thank you," he said to Higuchi. "Won't you come in and have some tea?"

"We would be delighted," Namikawa said quickly. "If you'll lead the way, Highness?"

"This way," Light said. He stopped just inside the mouth of the cave and gave the wizards his sweetest and most innocent smile. "You can leave your staff right here. Just lean them up against the wall."

Higuchi looked considerably startled, and Namikawa frowned. "Is this, too, something your Shinigami requires?" he said.

"I don't know," Light said, wrinkling up his forehead the way his mother did whenever she was puzzled. "But they'll be so awkward in the kitchen. Don't you think so? There's not very much room."

"We'll manage," Namikawa said.

Light hadn't really expected to get the wizards to let go of their staff, but it had been worth a try. He shrugged and smiled and led them on into the kitchen, where he made a point of bumping into the staffs or tripping over them every time he went by. Finally, Higuchi turned his sideways and stuck it under the table. Namikawa hung onto his with a kind of grim, suspicious stubbornness that made Light wonder whether he was fooling him at all with his pretended silliness.

The wizards made uncomfortable conversations about the weather and the kitchen's size for several minutes while Light fixed the tea and poured it. "Are the rest of Ryuk's caves this large?" Namikawa asked as Light handed him his teacup. He had given him the one with the broken handle, even though he was a guest, because he didn't trust him.

"Oh, yes," Light said. He was beginning to think he was never going to find out anything. The two wizards seemed perfectly happy to sit at the kitchen table and talk about nothing whatsoever for hours.

"Remarkable," Higuchi said in an admiring tone. "You know, we wizards don't often get to see the inside of a Shinigami's cave."

 _I'll bet you don't,_ Light thought as he gave a puzzled smile. "That's too bad."

"Yes, it is," Namikawa said. "Perhaps you'd be willing to show us around?"

 _Obviously, I can't learn anything if these wizards just sit at the kitchen table and drink tea_ , so he decided to take a chance. "Well," he said in a doubtful tone, "I suppose it would be all right as long as I don't take you into the treasure rooms."

"That's fine," Higuchi said, a little too quickly.

"You won't touch anything, will you?" Light said as they stood up. "Ryuk is so particular about where things are kept..."

"Of course not," Namikawa said, smiling insincerely.

Light smiled back and led the way out into the hall. He watched the wizards carefully as he took them through the large main cave, the general storage caverns, and the big cavern where Ryuk visited with other Shinigami. Namikawa made polite noises about everything's size and comfort, but neither he nor Higuchi seemed very interested. "And this is the library," Light said, throwing the door open.

"I am impressed," Namikawa said, and Light could tell that this time he meant it. He stepped sideways so that he could keep an eye on both of the wizards at the same time.

"A remarkable collection," Higuchi commented. He began walking around the room, admiring the bookshelves, and scanning the titles of the books.

"What's this?" Namikawa said, bending over the table. "The Historia Messorem? A surprising choice for light reading, Highness." His eyes met Light's, and they were hard and bright and suspicious.

"Oh, I'm not reading it," Light said hastily, opening his eyes very wide. "I just thought it would make the library look nicer to have a book or two sittings out on the table. More lived-in."

Namikawa nodded, looking relieved, and faintly contemptuous. "I think it works very well, Highness," he said. "Very well indeed." Then he looked over at the other side of the room and said sharply, "Higuchi! What are you doing?"

Light turned him head in time to see Higuchi put out a hand and deliberately tip several books off one of the shelves. "Stop that!" he said, forgetting to sound silly.

"I'm very sorry," Higuchi said. "Will you help me put them back where they belong?"

Light had no choice but to go over and help him. It took several minutes to get everything back in place because Higuchi kept dropping things. Light got quite annoyed with him and finally did it all herself. As he started to turn back to the center of the room, he caught a glimpse of Namikawa hastily closing the Historia Messorem. Light pretended not to notice, but he made a mental note that he had been looking at something near the middle of the book.

"That was dreadfully careless of you," Light said, frowning at Higuchi.

"Very clumsy," Namikawa agreed.

"I don't know what Ryuk will say when he finds out about it," Light went on. "Really, it is too bad of you. I did ask you not to touch anything, you know."

"Yes, you did," Namikawa said. "And I wouldn't like to think that we had gotten you in trouble. Perhaps it would be best if you didn't mention to Ryuk that we were here at all."

"I suppose I could do that," Light said in a doubtful tone.

"Of course you can," Higuchi said encouragingly. "And I'll come back in a few days to make sure everything's all right."

"I think it's time we were on our way," Namikawa said, giving his coworker a dark look. "Thank you for showing us around, Prince."

Light escorted them out of the cave, made sure they had left and then hurried back to the library. He spent the next several hours poring over the middle parts of the Historia Messorem, trying to figure out what Namikawa had been looking at. He was still there when Ryuk arrived home and called for her.

"That wizard Namikawa finally came, and he brought his friend along with him," Light said as he came out of the library.

"I know," Ryuk said. His voice sounded a little thick as if he had a cold. "I could smell them the minute I came in."

"Is that why you sound so odd?" Light asked. "You're not going to sneeze, are you?"

"I don't think so," Ryuk replied. "Don't worry about it. I'll have plenty of time to turn my head away and avoid knocking anything over."

"I wish I could get hold of some hens' teeth," Light said, frowning. "That fireproofing spell—"

"Have you looked in the treasure rooms?" Ryuk asked.

"No," Light replied, startled. He remembered seeing several jars and bottles of various shapes and sizes when he had been organizing the treasure, and none of them had been labeled. "It's your treasure."

"You're my prince, at least until someone rescues you or I decide otherwise," Ryuk pointed out. "I already gave you a notebook, so go ahead and look, and if you find any hens' teeth, use them. Be careful when you're checking the jars, though. There are one or two with lead stoppers that shouldn't be opened."

"Lead stoppers," Light said. "I'll remember."

"Good. Now, what did those wizards want?"

"I'm not sure." Light explained everything that had happened, including how he had seen Namikawa closing the history book as he turned and how the two wizards had been perfectly willing to leave right after that. "But just before they disappeared, Higuchi said he might come back another time," Light concluded. "So, I don't know whether they found what they were looking for or not."

"Do you know which part of the Historia Messorem that Namikawa was reading?" Ryuk asked.

"Somewhere in the middle, a little past my bookmark," Light replied. "I was just looking at it when you came in. It's the part about how Shinigami came to the Mountains and settled into the caves and chose a king."

"That's the section where the Historia describes the Caves of Fire and Night, isn't it?" Ryuk said.

Light nodded. "There was a whole page about somebody finding a stone in the caves so the Shinigami could pick a king. It didn't make much sense to me."

"Colin's Stone," Ryuk said, nodding. "We've used it to choose our King ever since the first time. When a king retires or dies from either laziness or stupidity, all Shinigami go to the Ford of Whispering Snakes in the Enchanted Forest and take turns trying to move Colin's Stone from there to the Vanishing Mountain. The one that succeeds is the next King."

"What if there are two Shinigami strong enough to move it?" Light asked curiously.

"It's not a matter of strength," Ryuk said. "Colin's Stone isn't much larger than you are. Even a small Shinigami could carry that much weight twice around the Enchanted Forest without any trouble at all. But Colin's Stone has an aura, a kind of vibration. When you carry it, you can feel it humming through your hands, and the humming gets stronger the farther you go until your bones are shaking. Most Shinigami have to drop it or be shaken to pieces, but there's always the one who is, for lack of better description, suited to the stone. For that Shinigami, the stone's humming is just a pleasant buzz, so of course, it's easy to get it to the Vanishing Mountain."

"You sound as if you've had the experience," Light said.

"Yeah," Ryuk responded, "I was old enough to participate in the tests when the last king died." he smiled reminiscently. "I got farther than anyone expected me to, though I wasn't one of the top ten by any means."

Light tilted his head to one side, considering. "I think I'm glad you didn't win."

"Oh? Why is that?" Ryuk sounded amused.

"Because you wouldn't have had any use for a prince if you were the King of the Shinigami, and if you hadn't decided to take me on, I probably would have been killed," Light explained, furrowing his brow. "Why would the wizards be interested in Colin's Stone if it's only used for picking out the kings of the Shinigami?"

"I doubt they are," Ryuk replied. "However, Colin's Stone was found in the Caves of Fire and Night, and wizards have always been interested in the caves. But the Shinigami control most of them, and all the easy entrances are ours, so the wizards have never been able to find out as much as they would like. The Historia Messorem is one of the few books that talk about the caves at all, and there aren't many copies. I'll bet Namikawa would have stolen it outright if he'd thought he could get away with it."

"I thought the Shinigami let wizards into the Caves of Fire and Night," Light objected. "Why would Namikawa be poking through history books looking for information if he can just go and look at them whenever he wants to?"

"We don't let wizards visit the caves whenever they want," Ryuk said. "If we did, they'd be running in and out all the time, and nobody would be able to breathe without sneezing. No, they're limited to certain days and times, and if they want to visit the Caves of Fire and Night otherwise, they have to use one of the entrances we don't control. Few of them try. The other ways of getting into the caves are very dangerous, even for wizards."

"Maybe they're looking for an easier way in."

"Mmm." Ryuk did not seem to be paying much attention. He thought for a moment, then turned toward the cave mouth. "I'm going to go see Rem. She and the others mentioned a book had been stolen from another library, and I want to know which one. I'll be back in a few hours."

"I think I'll go look at the Historia Messorem again while you're gone," Light said thoughtfully. "If there is something useful in it about the Caves of Fire and Night, maybe I can find it, now that I know what I'm looking for."

Light spent the rest of the afternoon carefully translating the chapter that talked about the caves. He was disappointed to find that there was very little about the caverns themselves, though what was there was interesting. The book told him how the Shinigami had discovered the back way into the caves and described some of the things they had found in them—caverns full of blue and green fire, pools of black liquid that would cast a cloud of darkness for twenty miles around if you poured three drops on the ground. The crystal walls multiplied every sound a thousandfold, rocks that spurted fire when they were broken. The rest of the chapter was about Colin's Stone; specifically, how it was taken from the caves by the first King of the Shinigami.

Ryuk returned just before dinner, and he and Light compared notes. Light told Ryuk what he had learned from the chapter on the Caves of Fire and Night, and then Ryuk explained what he had learned from Rem.

"The stolen book was The Kings of the Shinigami, and the entire first section was about Colin's Stone and the Caves of Fire and Night," Ryuk said. "And only a wizard could have gotten past the spells and safeguards on the library. I think that settles it. The wizards are definitely collecting information about the Caves of Fire and Night."

"Then why do they keep looking at books of Shinigami history?" Light asked. "It seems like a roundabout way of finding out whatever it is that they want to know."

"There isn't any other way to do it," Ryuk said. "Nobody but Shinigami have ever had much to do with the caves, and no one has written much about them except in Shinigami histories. Even the wizards weren't particularly interested in them until a few years ago, except as a reliable route into the Enchanted Forest."

"But from what I've been reading in the Historia Messorem, the caves sound fascinating," Light said. "You mean to say that no one has ever written anything about the Caves of Fire and Night except Shinigami?"

"That's—" Ryuk stopped suddenly, and his eyes narrowed. "No, that's not right. There was a rather rumpled scholar who talked his way into the caves a century or so back, and after he left, he wrote an extremely dry book about what he found there. I'd forgotten about him."

"Do you have a copy?" Light asked hopefully.

"No," Ryuk said. "But I don't think the Society of Wizards does, either. There weren't very many of them printed, and a lot of those were lost in that one flood a few years later. Some hero or other shoved a giant into a lake to drown him. The silly clunch didn't realize that if he put something that big into a lake, the water would have to go somewhere."

"Well, that doesn't do us much good," Light said. "It's nice that the Society of Wizards doesn't have a copy of that book, but if we can't get hold of one either—"

"I didn't say that," Ryuk said. "I don't have a copy myself, but I know who does."

"Who?" Light said impatiently.

"Naomi. I'm afraid you're not going to be able to work on that fireproofing spell of yours tomorrow. We're going to take a trip to the Enchanted Forest instead."


	7. In which Light and Ryuk make a journey underground

Light was surprised to learn that Ryuk intended to take him along on the visit to Naomi, and he was not entirely sure he liked the idea. He had heard a great deal about the Enchanted Forest, and none of it was reassuring. People who traveled there were always getting changed into flowers or trees or animals or rocks, doing something careless and having their heads turned backward, being carried off by ogres or giants or trolls, or enchanted by witches or wicked fairies. It did not sound like a good place for a casual, pleasant visit.

On the other hand, it seemed unlikely that anything dreadful would happen to Light if he were traveling with a Shinigami, and he was looking forward to seeing Naomi again. Besides, he was curious. While he knew it was unlikely, he was extremely curious about the King of the Enchanted Forest that Naomi had mentioned. Maybe he could meet the man? He certainly sounded interesting.

"And anyway," he said to himself, "Ryuk says I'm going, and there's no point in worrying about it if I don't have any choice." Nevertheless, he decided to take one of the smaller magic swords with him if Ryuk said it was alright. Light saw no point in taking unnecessary chances.

As predicted, given all the things he let Light have, Ryuk had no objection, so Light picked out a small, plain-looking sword in a worn leather scabbard that made the wearer invincible, and they started off. He had assumed that Ryuk would fly through the pass, but Ryuk said no.

"It's not that easy to get into the Enchanted Forest," he explained. "At least, not if you're trying to get in. Princes and youngest sons and particularly clever tailors stumble into it by accident all the time, but if one wants to go there on purpose, one has to follow the proper route."

"I didn't think Shinigami had that kind of problem," Light commented.

"Shinigami don't," Ryuk replied. "But you're not a Shinigami."

So instead of flying through the Pass of Silver Ice, Ryuk led Light through the tunnels. Light had to walk very quickly to keep up, even though Ryuk was moving slowly. 

The route twisted around and up and forth, down and around again until Light was thoroughly lost. Finally, they came to a gate made of iron bars that completely blocked the passage. Light studied it carefully, but he could see no sign of a handle or a lock.

"This is the entrance to the Caves of Fire and Night," Ryuk said casually, "Be careful from here on, and don't wander away, or you'll get lost."

Light refrained from saying that as far as he was concerned, they were lost already. "How are you going to open it?" he asked.

"Like this," Ryuk replied, his eyes completely changing to bright red and muttering something under his breath that Light couldn't make out, but as the soft sound of Ryuk's voice died away, the iron gate swung silently open. 

"That's a very unusual opening spell," Light said, and Ryuk shrugged.

"It wasn't always that complicated," He laughed a bit, "I believe the first version was very simple, just 'Open sesame,' but word got around, and we had to change it."

Light nodded and followed Ryuk through the gate and into the Caves of Fire and Night. For the first hundred yards or so, the only difference Light could see between these caves and the ordinary tunnels on the other side of the gate was that the Caves of Fire and Night were warmer. Then, very suddenly, his lamp went out, plunging everything into complete and utter blackness.

Light stopped walking immediately. "Ryuk?"

"It's quite all right, Light-o," Ryuk's disembodied voice said from out of the darkness. "This happens all the time here. Don't bother trying to relight the lamp. Just put your hand on my elbow and follow along that way."

"All right," Light said doubtfully. He groped with his free hand in the direction of Ryuk's voice. "I'm ready," His right hand was pressed flat against the back of Ryuk's left forearm. "Just don't move too fast, or I'll lose you or something."

Ryuk did his best to oblige, but Light still had difficulty in keeping up. He had to take at least three steps for every one of Ryuk's, and it seemed that every time he moved his foot, he hit a rock or an uneven place in the tunnel floor. Then he would stumble, and his hand would scrape and slide against so that he was afraid he would lose contact with the Shinigami.

"Are you sure I shouldn't try and relight the lamp?" Light asked after him fifth painful stumble-and-slide.

"Yeah," Ryuk said. "You see, it isn't—ah, there it goes." While Ryuk was speaking, there was a flicker of light, and then the darkness rolled aside like an opening curtain. Light found himself standing in a large cave whose walls glittered as if they were studded with thousands of tiny mirrors. The lamp in his left hand was burning cheerfully once more.

"Was it the lamp?" Light asked after studying it for a moment. "Or was it me?"

"It was the caves," Ryuk said. "That was one of the reasons they're 'of night' as well as 'of fire.'"

"Only one of the reasons?" Light said thoughtfully. "I don't like the sound of that."

"You'll be fine as long as you're with me," Ryuk assured him. "Very few things are willing to mess with a Shinigami, even in the dark. And the periods of darkness don't last long. It's because the magic of these caves doesn't affect us as much as other people, or so I'm told."

"You mean that blackness is likely to come back?"

Ryuk nodded.

"Then let's get as far as we can before it does," Light said and started across the cave.

Four tunnels were leading out of the opposite side of the glittering cavern. Ryuk took the second from the left without hesitating an instant.

"Where do all these tunnels go?" Light asked, glancing at the other three openings as he followed Ryuk.

"The one on the right end leads to a chain of caverns," Ryuk said over his shoulder. "The first few are boring, but then you come to one full of hot sulfur pools. Some of the older Shinigamis bathe there. They claim the water is good for rheumatism. Beyond that is a cave with molten silver dripping down the walls, and the chain ends at a deep chasm with a river of red-hot melted rock at the bottom."

"Doesn't sound very attractive," Light commented.

"The dwarves find it very useful for forging magic swords," Ryuk replied. "The second tunnel on the right takes you into a maze. The tunnels and caverns constantly shift around, so that no matter how carefully you mark your way, you always get lost."

"Even Shinigami?"

Ryuk nodded. "Though I believe there was one prince who managed to find his way out with a magic ball of string."

"Crap," Light stumbled a bit as the lights had gone out again, just as they emerged into a small cave.

"It's alright. This part's easy," Ryuk said.

"Next time, I'm going to bring a cane," Light muttered. "Where do the other tunnels lead?"

"The one on the far left goes through a couple of caverns that are pretty, but not very interesting. We're always chasing knights and princes out of it, though. They come for flasks of water from the bottomless pool at the far end."

"What does it do?" Light asked. "Ow!" he had just banged his right elbow against the wall of the cave in the dark.

"It casts a cloud of darkness for twenty miles around when it's poured on the ground," Ryuk replied.

"How useful," Light muttered balefully, rubbing his elbow.

"And this tunnel leads to the Enchanted Forest, by way of the King's Cave," Ryuk finished.

"Oh, good. I was hoping to see that," Light said. The King's Cave was the chamber where the first King of the Shinigami had found Colin's Stone, and the Historia Messorem had not described it anywhere near well enough to suit him. "And here's the light coming back, thank goodness. Let's hurry before it goes again."

They went through three small caves and two more blackness periods before they reached the King's Cave. Ryuk pointed out various locations of interest, such as the crystal wall with a chip in one corner where the Prince of the Ruby Throne had stolen a piece to make a magic ring and the jewel-studded cavern where the King of the Shinigami met with people who needed impressing. 

There was one very eerie cave full of slabs of black rock. Most were standing on end, though a few had fallen over. Ryuk said they were all enchanted princes.

"All of them?" Light asked, appalled. There were at least forty of the stone slabs, and the cave was quite crowded.

Ryuk shook his head. "No, the one on end there is just an ordinary boulder."

"How did it happen?"

"The princes came to steal the Water of Healing from the well at the end of the cave," Ryuk said. "There are two dippers by the well: one is tin, the other is solid gold and covered with jewels. The princes all tried to use the gold one, even though they'd been told that only the tin dipper would work. It's no more than they deserve."

Light frowned, thinking of some of the princes he had known. He certainly was the brightest of them. "I always believed any reasonably well-educated prince ought to have sense enough to follow directions when he's on a quest. But for some reason, most people are sure they knew better. If they'd simply done what they were told, they wouldn't be here. Still, turning them into slabs of stone forever seems a little extreme."

"Oh, they won't be stone forever," Ryuk said. "Sooner or later, someone will come along who has the sense not to improvise, and he'll succeed in getting the water. Then he'll use some of it to disenchant this lot, and the cave will be empty for a while until the next batch of young idiots starts arriving."

Light felt better knowing that the princes would someday be freed, though he had sense enough not to try doing it himself. Since he had not been sent on a quest for the Water of Healing, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to disenchant the princes even if he succeeded in taking the water. And he knew enough about quests and enchantments and the obtaining of things with magical properties to know that he would probably get into a lot of trouble if he tried. So he tucked the matter into the back of his mind and followed Ryuk through the stone-filled cavern. He was careful not to step on any of the fallen slabs.

Just outside the entrance to the next cave, Ryuk stopped. "This," he said, "Is the King's Cave. We have to cross it as quickly as we can. Don't stop in the middle, and don't say anything while we're inside. Understand? Good. Come on, then."

As soon as he stepped inside the cave, Light understood the reason for Ryuk's request for silence. The walls, the ceiling, and the floor were made of dark, shiny stone that multiplied and threw back echoes of even the smallest sound. The soft scraping of Ryuk's scales against the floor sounded like thirty men sawing wood, and the tiny gasp Light gave at the sight and sound of the cave was as loud as if he had shouted. Light went on as quietly and carefully as he could.

Halfway across, he noticed the vibration. It began as a gentle and not unpleasant buzzing in his bones, unrelated to the loud and continually multiplying echoes of his passage. However, it, too, grew stronger the farther into the cave he went. Ryuk was in front of him, and he saw the Shinigami's wings twitch, as if in pain or anger. Suddenly he remembered Ryuk's description of the aura that made it impossible for most Shinigami to carry Colin's Stone and that this was the place where Colin's Stone had been found. No wonder Ryuk was uncomfortable.

Light found himself wishing he could stop and pay attention to the humming in his bones, but he remembered Ryuk's directions and continued walking. He had nearly reached the exit when he saw a pebble about the size of his thumbnail, made of the same dark, shiny stone as the cavern walls. Ryuk had said nothing about picking things up, so Light veered a little to the right and scooped the pebble up as he passed. A moment later, he was out of the cave.

"Phew!" Ryuk sighed in relief, "I'm glad that's over. From here on, it should be easy."

"Good," Light replied. He dropped the pebble into his pocket to look at more closely later and followed Ryuk down the narrow, winding tunnel.


	8. In which Light and Ryuk pay a call, and Light gets into a fight

A few minutes later, they came out of the Caves of Fire and Night into bright sunlight. Light had to shade his eyes against the sudden glare. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he saw a large clearing around the mouth of the cave. The ground was covered with short grass, so lush and dense that it made him think of green fur. Here and there, a tiny flower twinkled among the blades of grass. At the edge of the clearing, the forest began, but Light could only make out the first row of trees. They were enormous, so large that they dwarfed even Ryuk.

"Leave the lamp here," Ryuk said. "There's no sense in carting it around the forest when we won't need it until we come back."

Light set the lamp on the ground just inside the mouth of the cave. "Now what?"

"Now we go to Naomi's," Ryuk replied. "And we'll get there more quickly if you ride on my back. If you climb up on that rock over there, you should probably get on my back without any trouble."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Light said, scrambling up onto the rock Ryuk had indicated.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded," Ryuk said. "Right there will be fine. Hold on tight in case I have to take off suddenly."

Light did not like the implication that there were things in the Enchanted Forest that were nasty enough to make even a Shinigami want to take off suddenly, but he did not say so. It was too late to back out, and he certainly wasn't going to wait at the mouth of the cave all alone while Ryuk went off to visit Naomi. There was no reason to think that waiting would be any safer than going along.

As soon as Light was settled in a piggyback ride, Ryuk set off into the forest rapidly. At first, Light had to concentrate on holding on, but he quickly began to get the hang of it. Soon he was able to look at some of the things they were passing. The trees were huge; Light guessed that even if there were four of him, holding hands, he would not be able to reach all the way around one of the trunks. The ground was carpeted with bright green moss that looked even thicker than the grass in the clearing. Light saw no flowers in it, but he spotted several bushes and a vine with three different fruit colors.

Ryuk changed course several times for no reason that Light could see, but he did not like to distract the Shinigami by asking questions. They passed a mansion guarded by a fence made of gold and a short tower without windows or doors. Then Ryuk splashed through a shallow stream and made a sharp turn. The trees thinned a little, and Ryuk stopped in front of a neat gray house with a wide porch and a red roof. Over the door was a black-and-gold sign in large block letters reading, "NONE OF THIS NONSENSE, PLEASE."

Several cats of various sizes and colors perched on the porch railing or lying in the sun. As Light dismounted, Ryuk said to one of them, "Would you be good enough to tell Naomi that I'm here and would like to talk to her?"

The cat, a large gray tom, blinked its yellow eyes at Ryuk. Then he jumped down from the porch rail and sauntered into the house, his tail held high as if to say, "I'm doing this as a particular favor, mind, and don't you forget it."

"He doesn't seem very impressed," Light commented in some amusement.

"Why should he be?" Ryuk said.

"Well, you're a Shinigami," Light answered, a little taken aback.

"What difference does that make to a cat?"

Fortunately, Light did not have to find an answer, for, at that moment, Naomi appeared in the doorway. She was wearing the same black robe she had worn when she visited Light, or another one exactly like it, and she peered at them with the air of someone studying an unexpected and rather peculiar puzzle.

"Good morning, Ryuk," she said after a moment. "This is a surprise."

"Good," Ryuk laughed. "If you aren't expecting us to be here, no one else is, either."

"That's the way of things, is it?" Naomi commented thoughtfully. "How much of a hurry are you in?"

"Not much of one, as long as no one knows we're here."

"Then Light had better get down and have something to drink," Naomi said in a tone that forbade contradiction. "There's cider, or goat's milk, though if you want that, you'll have the cats after you, or I can put a kettle on for tea. What have you done to your hand?"

While Naomi had been talking, Light slid carefully down Ryuk's side. It was a long slide, and when his feet hit the ground, he had to put out a hand on a tree to keep from falling. Naomi's exclamation made him blink in surprise, and he looked down. The palm of his right hand was covered with blood from half a dozen deep slashes and as many scrapes.

"Oh," Light said. "It must have happened in the caves when it was so dark. I didn't realize it. It doesn't hurt at all."

"Hurting or not, it needs attention," Naomi said firmly. "Come inside, and I'll see to it while Ryuk tells me why you're here. You'll have to go around back this time," she added, turning to Ryuk. "The front steps won't take the weight. A gnome stole one of the supports, and I haven't had time to get it fixed yet. Pesky creatures—they're worse than mice."

"Don't the cats keep the mice away?" Light asked, mildly puzzled.

"Yes, but they don't do anything about gnomes, which is why gnomes are worse. Mind the step."

Ryuk started walking while Naomi brought Light up the wooden steps and into the house. Several of the cats eyed Light curiously as he passed, and a tortoiseshell kitten got up and followed him in.

The front door led into a large, airy room with an iron stove in one corner. There was a good deal of furniture, but everything except the table and the stove had at least one cat on top of it. Naomi frowned at the fat and fluffy Persian that was sitting on one of the chairs. The cat stood up, yawned, gave its front paws a cursory lick or two just to show that this was all his own idea, and jumped down onto the floor. As Light sat down in the vacated chair, there was a knock at the wooden door on the opposite side of the room.

"That'll be Ryuk," Naomi said. She crossed to the door and opened it. "Come in. I'll get you some cider as soon as I've seen to Light's hand."

Naomi's back door did not seem to get any larger, and Ryuk certainly did not get any smaller, but somehow Ryuk got in without a problem, and somehow there was plenty of room in the kitchen even after he got inside.

Ryuk settled down along the far wall, where he would be out of the way, and as soon as he stopped moving, six cats jumped onto various portions of his shoulders. Neither Ryuk nor Naomi seemed to notice. Naomi took a small tin box from a shelf beside the stove and sat down at the table beside Light. "Now, tell me what you're here for," she said, taking a roll of linen and two jars of ointment out of the box. "Apart from my cider, I mean."

"Light had some interesting visitors yesterday," Ryuk said.

"If they were interesting, they can't have been knights," Naomi commented in a deadpan tone with a small smile that made Light laugh a bit.

"They weren't," Ryuk said. "They were wizards, and they went to a lot of trouble to get a look at my copy of the Historia Messorem. The part that describes the Caves of Fire and Night."

"And you think that's why they've been sniffing around the Mountains of Morning for the past six months," Naomi said. "How did you find out what they were looking at? Or did they ask permission?"

"I don't think Namikawa or especially Higuchi would ask permission for anything even if he was sure he'd get it," Light said. "He'd consider it beneath him. No, I saw Namikawa shut the book, and he was only a little further along from where I'd left my bookmark. Ow! That stings."

"Good," Naomi said. "It's supposed to." She closed the jar of salve she had been smearing on Light's palm and began wrapping the injured hand in the linen bandage. "Did Namikawa get what he was after?"

"I don't think so," Light said. "He said he wanted to come back for another visit, and I don't think he'd have done that if he'd found whatever he was looking for."

"That seems like a reasonable assumption," Naomi said. "Though wizards aren't always reasonable. There, that should take care of things. Don't take the bandage off for at least four days, and if you're going to cook anything that has fennel in it, stir it left-handed."

"Namikawa's interest in the Historia Messorem isn't the only thing that points to his curiosity about the Caves of Fire and Night," Ryuk said and explained about the book that had been stolen. "There've been other incidents as well, and nearly all wizards we've caught poking around have been somewhere in or near the caves. That's why no one thought much about it at first. Ever since the Old Man made that agreement with the Society of Wizards, they've been claiming they're supposed to have more time in the caves than we're willing to give them. Everyone thought this was more of the same."

"Not everyone," Naomi said, giving Ryuk a sharp look.

"I am widely considered to be unduly curious and suspicious of everyone and everything," Ryuk said in a dry tone. "Particularly wizards."

"And what do your suspicions make of this business?"

"I think Namikawa is trying to find out something about the Caves of Fire and Night," Ryuk said. "Something he hasn't been able to learn from visiting the caves in person, hence his recent interest in histories that describe the caves, however briefly."

"And you're hoping I have something in my library that will help you figure out what it is," Naomi concluded.

"I don't hope," Ryuk said. "I know. Unless someone has run off with your copy of DeMontmorency's _A Journey Through the Caves of Fire and Night_."

"If someone has, he'll regret it," Naomi said. "Wait here, and I'll check." She rose and went out. Through the doorway, Light could see a room full of tall, dark-stained shelves.

Light blinked. "Isn't that the door you came in through?" he asked Ryuk.

Ryuk nodded. "Of course."

"I thought it led out into Naomi's yard."

"It leads wherever Naomi wants it to lead," Ryuk said.

"I see," Light said, wishing his father's court philosopher were there. He was very pompous and stuffy, particularly about magic, which he claimed was 90 percent trickery and the rest illusion. Light had found him very trying. Dealing with Naomi's door would probably have given him a headache.

Naomi came back into the kitchen, holding a thin red book. "Here it is. I'm sorry it took me so long to find it, but the nonfiction isn't organized as well as it should be yet."

Ryuk surged to his feet, shedding cats in all directions. The cats gave him reproachful looks and then stalked out the front door with affronted dignity. Ryuk paid no attention. He peered at the book over Naomi's shoulder.

"I suppose you'll want to borrow it?" Naomi said.

"Yeah," Ryuk said. "Is there a problem?"

"Only if it gets stolen," Naomi said. "There are very few of these around, and I'm not sure I could replace it."

"I'll keep it in the vault with the treasure," Ryuk promised. "Wizards won't think to look for it there, and even if they do, they won't get in. I've got enough anti-wizard spells on the door to stop the whole Society. They can't get in unless someone invites them."

"All right," Naomi said, handing the book to Ryuk. "Is that everything you came for?"

"No." Ryuk looked at Naomi with limpid eyes and went on in a plaintive tone, "I still haven't had any apple cider."

Naomi laughed and went to one of the cupboards. She pulled out two mugs and a large mixing bowl and filled them with an amber-colored liquid she poured from a heavy-looking pottery jug. She set the mixing bowl in front of Ryuk and gave one of the mugs to Light, then sat down with the second mug herself.

They were in Naomi's kitchen for over an hour, drinking cider and speculating about what the wizards were up to. Several cats came back after a while, and Naomi gave them a dish of goat's milk, which soothed their ruffled feelings somewhat.

"How is that fireproofing spell of yours coming?" Naomi asked as she returned to the table.

"I have everything I need except the powdered hens' teeth, and I'm beginning to think I'm never going to find any," Light said. "Ryuk has offered to let me look through the jars in the treasury, but if there isn't any there, I don't know where I'll look next."

"Really," Naomi said, giving Ryuk a sharp look. "Well, if you can't find any hens' teeth, you could try substituting snake fingernails or the hair from a turtle's egg. I wouldn't try it except as a last resort, though. Altering spells is a very tricky business."

At last, they had to leave. Ryuk went out the same way he had come in while Light watched in fascination. Then Light and Naomi went on to the front porch. Ryuk sidled up to the house, and Light stood on the porch railing to climb onto his back. The cats were seriously affronted by this maneuver and expressed their displeasure in reproachful glances and low yowls.

"Don't take any notice," Naomi said. "It only encourages them."

Light nodded. "Thank you for everything."

"You're quite welcome," Naomi answered. "Don't wait too long to come again."

"You'd better take this, Light-o," Ryuk said, reaching back over his shoulder to hand Naomi's book to Light. "I can't carry it and run at the same time."

Light took the book and tucked it into his bag. "I'm all set," he said, and they started off.

Light enjoyed the ride back to the Mountains of Morning. He was now sufficiently accustomed to riding on a Shinigami to be able to concentrate on looking at the forest as it flashed past. The trees seemed almost identical to one another, but Light spotted quite a few odd-looking bushes and vines, and twice he thought he saw small faces staring out at his from among leafy branches.

They reached the threshold of the caves much sooner than Light expected. Ryuk waited while he slid to the ground, then said, "The entrance is a little narrow. I'll go first and make sure there's nothing unpleasant waiting for us."

Light nodded, and Ryuk vanished into the cave. Before Light could follow, he heard a shrill cry above him. He looked up and saw an enormous white bird plummeting toward him, its clawed feet extended to attack. For an instant, Light was frozen by surprise and fear. Then he ducked and reached for his sword.

He was almost too slow. The bird was on top of him, shrieking and slashing before he had done more than grasping the hilt of his weapon. But the sword seemed to leap out of the scabbard as soon as he touched it, and he swung clumsily as he rolled aside. He did not expect to do any damage, just to force the bird to back away a little, but he felt the sword connect and heard a wail of pain from the bird. Thanking all his lucky stars individually and by name, Light twisted and scrambled to his feet, sword ready.

There was nothing for him to guard against. The sword stroke had been more effective than he realized. The bird was dying. As he stared at it, it raised its head.

"You killed me?" the bird said incredulously. "But you're just a common boy."

"Actually, he's a prince," Ryuk's voice said from behind Light. "My prince, so you'd have been in even bigger trouble if you'd succeeded in carrying him off."

"I don't think I could have done it if I hadn't had a magic sword," Light said, feeling a morbid sense of glee bubbling up at the idea of using the sword and defending himself, that he could already hear his parents chastising him.

"Just my luck," the bird said disgustedly. "Oh, well, fair's fair. You killed me, so you get my forfeit."

"You're not dead yet," Light commented, "So there's technically—"

"Not a chance," the bird said. It was beginning to sound rather faint. "Do you want the forfeit, or don't you?"

"Take it," Ryuk advised.

Light said nothing, and after a moment, the bird said, "All right, then. Under my left-wing, you'll find three black feathers. If you drop one and wish to be somewhere else, you'll find yourself there in the twinkling of an eye. Any questions?"

"Can I take anyone else with me?" Light asked, thinking that if the bird was so determined to give him the feathers, he might as well cooperate with it.

The bird looked at him with respect. "Will wonders never cease. For once, a human with sense is getting the forfeit. Yes, you can take someone with you, as long as you're touching them. Same for objects; if you can carry it, you can take it with you. You get one trip per feather. That's all."

"But—" Light said, then stopped. The bird's head had fallen back, and it was clearly quite dead.

"Don't feel too bad," Ryuk shrugged. "If it had succeeded in carrying you off, it would have fed you to its nestlings."

"Fed me to its nestlings?" Light discovered that he had lost any shred of sympathy for the dead bird. But then he frowned, "Won't the nestlings starve, now that the bird is dead?"

"No. One of the other birds will take over the chore of feeding them for a few weeks until they're big enough to catch their own food," Ryuk said. "Now, clean that sword and take your feathers, and let's get going. I want to have a look at that book of Naomi's."

Light nodded and did as he was told. The three black feathers were right where the bird had said they would be, and he put them in his bag with Naomi's book and the black pebble from the Caves of Fire and Night. He wiped the sword on the grass several times, then finished cleaning it with his handkerchief. When he finished, he left the handkerchief beside the dead bird and followed Ryuk into the Caves of Fire and Night.


End file.
